APH Elektra
by Katina Uchiha
Summary: Arthur Kirkland is a well known assassin, a fabled warrior that will tip the balance of an age old war. But when he meets a young boy who is said to be the Treasure, a normal assignment becomes so much more. APH spin of Elektra. FrUK, daily updates
1. Prologue

**A/N: well, everyone, here is my Axis Powers Hetalia version of _Elektra_. i loved the movie a lot, so this should go fairly quickly! ENJOY!**

* * *

Prologue

_Since time began, a war has been waged in the shadows between the armies of good, and evil. It may be fought on a grand scale, or inside the heart of a single individual—even a child._

_The evil has taken many forms, and used the darkest of arts. In our time, the call themselves simply…_

_The Hand._

_The good follow the way of Kimagure. Its masters can see the future, and perhaps even bring back the dead._

_Legend tells of a unique warrior, a lost soul. This warrior is a man, a motherless son. And it is his destiny to tip the balance between good and evil. He is a treasure, both sides seek him out as a final weapon, in an ancient war…_

"Do you really believe those stories, Aniki?"

Yao looked at his little brother with sympathy. He always read this story to his brother to help him sleep, and now was no different. He smiled and patted the boy on the head.

"It's just a story, Kiku, a legend," Yao said with a comforting smile. "I hardly doubt that there's any truth to it. Now get some sleep." Yao kissed Kiku's forehead and turned out the light. He walked over to the door and was about to close it when a small voice stopped him.

"Kimagure…" Kiku whispered, barely catching Yao's ear. But the brunet heard it and turned around, confused. Kiku turned his head to him and Yao could see his brother's shining brown eyes in the dark. "Mother and Father talked of it often… I heard them… I know it's real…"

"Alright, Kiku," Yao said with a sad smile, deciding it better to humor his brother for now. "Good night."

"Good night, Aniki…" Kiku said before rolling over and falling into the sweet abyss of sleep.

* * *

**so what do you think? Love it? Hate it? want to rip it to pieces and toss it into a raging inferno? R&R plzkthnx!**


	2. Chapter 1: Let's begin

**A/N: chapter 1! YAY! anyway, some of you might have realized, this is cross-posted on , so, yeah... ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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Chapter 1

Vash checked over his security system once again, checking in with each person posted around the large mansion. Everything was set. There was no way that anything was getting in…

"Perimeter, what's your status?" Vash asked, watching each monitor and the man on camera.

_"Delta team, clear."_

_"Alpha, clear."_

_"Bravo, secure."_

Vash leaned back in his chair, content with the way things were set up at the moment.

"What's the point?"

Vash turned to look at the speaker, only able to see a tuft of blonde hair above the back of the chair. His employer was sitting there in front of the blazing fireplace, sipping some kind of amber liquid. He just sighed and turned back to his monitors, watching intently for anything that dared to cross into the camera's path.

"He'll still get in… You can't stop him," Alfred said, taking another sip of the alcohol. "No one can stop him…"

"Him?" Vash asked curiously.

"I was afraid that if I told you before you wouldn't take the job…" Alfred said calmly. He looked into the fire as it crackled, almost seeing himself burning in the depths of hell. "I never should have hired you…"

* * *

Outside the house, unbeknownst to the two men, someone was there. The guard perked up slightly at the sound of movement on the roof. He cocked his gun and waited silently.

Just then, he saw the other guard that was on the roof fall off and into the snowing ground, already dead.

* * *

"Who do you think is coming for you?" Vash asked, a slight twinge of fear in his voice.

Alfred took another sip of his drink, letting the cool liquid slid down his throat. He knew he was going to die and he knew that every man that was guarding him was going to die as well. Men with families, wives, children…

"You may have heard of him…" Alfred said with a sigh. "His name… is Arthur Kirkland."

Vash chuckled slightly at hearing the name. That man was a pirate of myths and legends.

"You find that funny?" Alfred asked, his voice with no hint of joking in it.\

"He's an urban legend, sir," Vash said, turning back to his monitors. "You American's have one sense of humor. It's almost sad… That man died years ago."

"Really?" Alfred asked, his voice still that dead serious tone that made Vash flinch. "Then someone must have brought him back from the dead…"

Vash just shook his head, partly to show he didn't believe Alfred, and also partly to get the image of a corpse walking around amongst the living. It was a very scary sight for the Swiss, and it made his watch the monitors even more intently.

"You know, Vash, when you've done the things I've done, you make a lot of enemies…" Alfred started, refilling his glass. "My private security detail, the best money could buy… This nonexistent man killed 14 of them in half an hour."

* * *

The guard ran over to his buddy, quickly checking his vitals. But it was too late. The guard bowed his head, sending the dead man his prayers. But it was just short as a blade was plunged through his neck, spraying the white ground with red.

The figure pulled the knife out of the man's neck and slowly wiped it off before walking into the house. It slowly climbed the steps, not out of caution, but out of supremacy. It was wearing skin tight red leather pants and red leather studded straps were wrapped around it's hands and halfway up it's forearm. But above that, it was covered in shadows.

* * *

"I barely got away," Alfred continued, oblivious to Vash's shaking behind him. "I spent the next two days in Monte Carlo wondering, why he let me go…" Alfred stared into the fire, as if he was still pondering the question but knowing he'd never get an answer. "And then he came for me."

* * *

The figure stood on a table before jumping into the rafters of the house. It was easy for the lithe assassin to jump silently from beam to beam before it came across another guard.

The guard had it's back to the red clothed assassin, oblivious to the slaughter that was behind him in the house. He seemed rather lax as piercing green eyes watched him.

The assassin jumped down onto the guard, silently pinning him to the ground, covering his mouth while it plunged it's blade into his back. It watched as the fountain of blood shot up from the wound as it removed it's blade like a spectator would watch fireworks.

It slipped silently by, continuing farther into the house.

* * *

"I was under the protection of the Hand itself, who sent their best. Although, they seemed more interested in killing Kirkland than in protecting me," Alfred said, chuckling a little at the memory and Vash's ignorance. "He cut them down like wheat. Took maybe 10, 15 minutes max." Alfred paused for a second while he let his words sink in. He watched the fire still, as if the red and yellow flames would give him some kind of answer. "I… didn't really think why I kept getting away. So here I am… And now I understand him."

* * *

The figure walked down the hallway in slow strides, a pile of bodies behind it. There was a halo around the figure as it walked with it's back to the lights. It's blades glinted dangerously in the faint light, giving the assassin an even more dangerous aura.

* * *

"He wanted me to feel this. What it's like to have nowhere to go… Nowhere to turn…"

A small beeping broke both men out of the trance the story put them under. Vash flipped on his headset and watched the monitors carefully. He stared wide-eyed as he saw no one on the screen, and that was the problem. He was able to see each of his team members on the monitors before. Now they were empty, and one of them had the front door swinging wide open.

"How's your perimeter doing now?" Alfred asked, knowing the answer without even looking. He knew that Kirkland got in; he always knew the blond assassin would get in. He was impressed at how quickly the man was able to get inside.

"Delta what's your status?" Vash asked, right before the first monitor went black. Then the second went black and then the third and fourth and he panicked. "There's no signal! Son of a bitch…" Vash started calling out to the groups while Alfred continued his little speech.

"You know, the better the assassin, the closer they can get before you know they're here," Alfred said in a calm voice.

"Alpha, Bravo, report!" Vash snapped into his headset. He was able to catch a glimpse of something in the shadows on the last screen before it too went blank. Every one of the screens switched to a static before Vash flipped a switch to turn them off.

"Ah, fuck…" Vash hissed, picking up his gun. Just then, a machine gun was heard firing at something just outside the door before it abruptly stopped.

_"Be careful what you do… Cause God is watching your every move…"_ Alfred sang softly and in a creepy voice that made Vash doubt his employer's sanity. He then said in a very creepy and sing-songy voice, "He's he~ere." Alfred sighed and then took another sip of his drink. He went back to staring at the fire before he said, "You know, they say that Kirkland whispers in your ear before he kills you."

"Alpha, Bravo, report!" Vash snapped into his earpiece as he walked over to the door, gun in hand.

_"It's too late for your boss, Vash,"_ a distinctly British voice said through Vash's earpiece. _"But it's not too late for you."_

"Jesus Christ!" Vash cried, ripping the earpiece from his ear and throwing it on the floor. He was really scared now and held up his gun with a shaky hand. Alfred just sighed.

Vash jumped again when he heard the door handle creek. Vash stared at the hand in horror as it started to move ever so slightly. With a loud cry, he opened fire on the door with the machine gun in his hands. He blew holes through the wooden door, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Alfred just shut his eyes and sat there calmly. He knew it would take more than just that to kill Kirkland.

Vash tossed the empty gun aside and pulled a pistol from his belt as he walked over to the door. He cautiously looked through one of the bullet holes, his eyes darting around like mad. In an instant, he was looked at eyes brighter and greener than his own. He sputtered as he felt a blade plunge into his stomach. Blood started to come out of his mouth as the blade was pulled out and retreated back behind the door. Vash stumbled away from the door before he collapse on top of his monitors, dead.

Alfred opened his eyes and carefully took a sip of his drink, knowing that this would be his last. He nearly drained the full glass.

The door flung open, sending in such a powerful gust of wind that it made the fire flicker like crazy. Alfred could feel his little hair tuft being whipped around with the wind and he knew who opened the door. He just sighed, not even bothering to turn around.

He could see Kirkland walking into the room with his mind's eye, as well as hear his footsteps. He could imagine the haughty blond walking in, daggers in hand. He could almost picture finely toned muscles rippling beneath the skin tight, sleeveless red turtleneck that the Brit was associated with. He could see the golden blonde hair glowing in the light of the fire and his forest green eyes glowing with a murderous intent unlike any he'd ever seen before. Alfred took a deep breath, knowing that this was the beginning of his end.

"Here we are at last," Alfred said, a sigh in his voice, as if he was sad to see this chase end. All he heard in response was Kirkland exhaling. Alfred lifted his glass a little, using the smooth surface of the cup to see Kirkland's reflection. "Guess it's all true. The red outfit, the knives—" As if to emphasize his words, Kirkland flipped the blades out, showing Alfred his silver weapons with a deadly _shing_. Alfred sighed and looked at the knives in the glass. "So what happens now? You just going to kill me, straight out. Just cold?" Alfred silently cocked his gun, ready to turn around and shoot the bastard behind him.

"Don't worry. Death's not that bad," Kirkland said, his light British accent clear in the silent room.

"Yeah? How do you know?" Alfred asked, his voice devoid of any emotions. He jumped slightly when he felt spiky hair tickling his ear.

"I died once," Kirkland whispered in Alfred's ear.

Alfred's glass shattered on the floor as Kirkland slowly pushed the blade through Alfred's back. Alfred looked down to see a half an inch of the silver tip poking out of his chest, blood slowly dripping down the bomber jacket he wore. His vision began to get blurry as his head lolled to the side as his heart stopped beating.

Kirkland just pulled his blade out, not a single readable expression on his face. He flipped both blades back to that they rested against his arms and the hilts pointing downward. Without a single glance back, he walked out of the mansion, not caring about the blood of bodies and acting like they weren't even there.

* * *

**So, love it? hate it?**

**did anyone happen to notice my Death Note reference in there?**

**i could SO see Al doing that in that situation, JUST to be creepy!**

**poor Vash, he was the first character to die...**

**no offence to any Vash fans, i just think that he would be the one Al would call to guard his house.**

**yeah, so chapter two will come soon!  
**


	3. Chapter 2: New Job

**A/N: CHAPTER 2~~~! can you contain your excitment? well, i can't, not right away, anyway! well, we FINALLY learn who are vilan is! YAY!**

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Chapter 2

"So am I to understand that with all the powers of the Hand, the Treasure continues to elude us?"

Gilbert felt a knife go through his heart, metaphorically speaking. His father had giving him the job of finding the Treasure, and yet here they are, three years later, and nothing still. Now, his brother was also in on the plan.

"Yes," Ludwig said, standing at the end of the table, across from his father and brother. "Perhaps if we had pursued it sooner, and more aggressively…"

"You dare to blame Father, Ludwig?" Gilbert asked, trying to stay calm.

"It seems our methods are… too mild for Ludwig, eh?" their father asked, a smirk on his usually stoic face.

"Not at all, father," Ludwig said, keeping his face expressionless. "But, if we cannot have the weapon ourselves, allow me to make sure that it does not fall into the hands of those who could use it against us."

"Father, allow me," Gilbert said, determined not to be upstaged by his little brother. "Things like this must be handled smoothly, quietly."

"Then work smoothly, Gilbert, but quickly," their father said, fingering his Teutonic Cross.

Gilbert nodded and stood, a smirk of victory on his face. He looked back to shoot one last glare at Ludwig before leaving the room. Ludwig glared back, just as icily. The blonde turned to go when a call from his father stopped him.

"Ludwig," his father said, making the blonde stop halfway to the door. Ludwig turned, only enough so that he could glance over his shoulder at his father. "Patience."

Ludwig simply huffed and stormed out of the room.

Arthur pushed another tuft of hair back as he scrubbed the floor, his hands and knees in the dirty water. He stopped for a second and leaned back on his haunches as he felt something pulsing in his mind.

Someone was coming.

Arthur sighed and went back to his cleaning as he heard his front door open and then close.

"Mon amour, is it safe to keep your door unlocked like that?"

Arthur sighed again and wiped his brow as Francis walked over to him, his blonde hair slightly matted from the rain. Though, his blue eyes still sparkled with a fire that Arthur was quite used to by now.

"Hello, Francis," Arthur said, dipping his scrub brush back into the bucket before going back to scrubbing the floor.

"What, no hello kiss for me, mon amour?" Francis asked with a pout. He set down the two bags that he was carrying and opened his arms for his lover. "Come now, don't be so cruel."

"Alright, alright, bloody frog," Arthur said as he unceremoniously dropped the brush into the bucket and stood up. He walked over to Francis and placed a quick peck on his cheek before walking back over to his work.

"Mon amour that hurt!" Francis said dramatically, clutching the fabric about his heart. "After everything I do for you! I find your work, I get the money for you, I even care for you when you're injured! How can you be so cruel to your own boyfriend?"

"No need to guilt trip me, you frog," Arthur said, watching as the Frenchman slid down the wall to a sitting position and turned over onto his side. Arthur sighed and then smiled, wondering how in the world he was so lucky to have a boyfriend like Francis.

"Then can I have a proper kiss, s'il vous plait?" Francis asked, a smile on his face.

"Alright, fine, I don't see why not…" Arthur said, shaking his head with a small laugh.

Arthur crawled over to where Francis was laying and sat down next to him. He gently laces his hands through Francis's impossible soft blonde hair and kissed him tenderly on the lips. It was like two pieces of a puzzle fitting neatly together, Arthur mussed as Francis flipped them over so that the Frenchie was on top. Francis gently teased Arthur's lips apart and darted his tongue inside, drinking in the hoarse moan as their tongues brushed each other. Their mouths danced together in an intricate dance that they two knew so well, and loved every second of it.

The two pulled away about a minute later, both needing to breath properly. Francis got up and held out a hand for Arthur with a smile. Arthur took the hand and stood, then eyed the bags that Francis brought.

"Is that it?" Arthur asked, looking from the bag to Francis.

"Oui, minus my 10%, of course," Francis said with a smile.

"Of course," Arthur said with a smirk.

"Look, um, I don't want to tell you how to do your job or anything but…" Francis started, stopping Arthur's advance to the bag halfway through. "Quiet a body count on this one, mon amour." Arthur just sighed and looked away from Francis. "I mean, we only got paid for Jones. Was it necessary?"

Arthur just shot Francis a glare and turned around, gathering up his cleaning supplies. "It had to be done."

"Did it?" Francis asked, watching as Arthur started to walk down the stairs. "Arthur, did it?" Arthur stopped and shot Francis one of the dirtiest looks the Frenchie had ever seen. Francis put his hands up in defeat. "Okay, I get it…"

"Anyway, it spreads the legend…" Arthur said as he started to walk back down the stairs. "Besides, they were going to kill me."

"Of course they were. Absolutely," Francis said, slightly sarcastic. He followed Arthur, picking up both bags on the way down the stairs. "And, speaking of which, as your agent, I am obligated to tell you that we just got a fantastic new offer, but this last job—"

"Let's skip this one," Arthur said, cutting off Francis mid sentence. "I need a breather."

"Great idea," Francis said with a smile. "I'm just saying, it's a lot of coin…"

"I'm tired," Arthur said, dumping the water out of the bucket and into the sink.

"You're tired?" Francis asked, depositing his bags onto the counter and going to stand behind Arthur. He started to give the Brit a nice neck massage as he continued. "Well, then you better get some rest because you are going to crash, mon amour, you know that." A sly smirk came to Francis's face but Arthur beat him to the punch.

"Resting does not include you, my bed, and no clothing," Arthur said, making the Frenchie swear under his breath.

There was a small silence in the room while Francis continued his little massage.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Francis asked casually.

"There's nothing out there of interest for me at the moment," Arthur said, leaning back against Francis's warm chest.

"So then you're free?"

"Of course."

"Dinner?"

"Wonderful."

"The Royal?"

"My favorite."

"Good, I'll be back around 8 then."

"Splendid," Arthur said with a smile. All their planning went like this, off the cuff, Francis asking and Arthur responding with simply, one word answers. It was almost like a game they played. "By the way… how much are they paying?"

"Two," Francis said with a smirk, holding up two fingers to emphasize his point. He sighed dramatically and put them down. "Ah, they'll give it to somebody else."

"They wouldn't pay that to somebody else," Arthur mussed, looking down at the ground.

"You got that right," Francis said, smirking triumphantly. He leaned over and whispered in Arthur's ear, "They specifically asked for you." Francis pointed to the second bag that he brought with him and said, "Locations in there, I'll call you when they get the target."

"Alright," Arthur said, standing upright and going over to the bag.

"I'll see you at 8, rest up," Francis said, patting Arthur on the shoulder and giving him a quick goodbye kiss before leaving.

* * *

**again, love it? hate it? want to rip my heart out and feed it to wolves? tell me what you think! the next chapter will be out either today or tomorrow! R&R PLZKTHNX!**


	4. Chapter 3: A New Face

**A/N: chatper 3, WOOT! are you excited? i am! LET'S GO!**

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Chapter 3

Arthur stood on the bow of the ship that was to take him to his new home. The wind whipped his hair and red scarf around, making the only noise on the ship at the moment. Arthur exhaled deeply as he looked out into the blue water. The sun shone off the water, blinding Arthur for a moment. It reminded him of back then…

_

* * *

Arthur was lying on a bed in the back of an ambulance, staring blankly at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. There was a heart monitor hooked up to him that blared a single note._

_"Quickly, again!" the nurse cried as the doctor tried to shock Arthur's heart back into working…_

* * *

Arthur sighed and leaned against the railing, staring blanking out in front of him.

_

* * *

"Do you know the way, Arthur?"_

_Germania tucked a strand of his long blonde hair behind his ear as he walked into the small building. Pushing aside the white curtains that formed the walls around wooden beams, he caught his first look at Arthur's unmoving body. Arthur had been a good student, and now the boy had been reckless again. Germania steeled his mind and walked fully into the room._

_The blond sighed and walked over to the side of the table, knowing his eyes have much time. He closed his ice blue eyes and focused all his energy into his Kimagure trance. He hovered one hand over Arthur's heart and moved the other to his head._

_At that moment, Arthur gasped as his eyes burst open as he jumped into a sitting position._

_"Kimagure?"_

_Arthur jumped, easily dodging his sparing partner's staff. The wind whipped around his face, making his hair blow into his eyes, blinding him. He looked at the five people around him, calculating everything in his mind._

_One of the people around him initiated and it turned into an all out frenzy. Arthur easily dodged and blocked every attack and was able to land every attack he launched. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was a talented fighter…_

_"The ability to control time, the future, even life and death."_

_"I know that I am the best student here," Arthur said, staff in hand as he spoke to Germania. The man was staring at Arthur with an unreadable expression and it made the Brit a little uneasy._

_"Not the best, the most powerful," Germania corrected him. "You understand violence and pain. But you do not know the way._

_"Teach me then," Arthur demanded, showing no fear, even though he was afraid. He knew he something bad was going to happen, since Germania called the entire dojo to watch. Something very bad was going to happen…_

_"That's my point. I can't teach you," Germania said, his voice calm as ever even though his words still stung. "I want you to go." Arthur visibly flinched at these words._

_"Is this a test, Master?" Arthur asked, confusion clear in his voice and on his face._

_"No, not a test," Germania said simply. "Just go."_

_Arthur felt tears sting the corners of his eyes at these words. Germania wasn't yelling or snapping, but that calm voice was more hurtful than the words themselves. Arthur looked away, fighting against his tears. He was an orphan, what was going to happen now…? He looked back at Germania, sadness in his eyes, trying one last thing._

_"I don't have anywhere to go," Arthur said in a small voice. He looked at Germania hopefully, wanting the old man to change his mind._

_Germania remind silent, looking into emerald eyes with a look that said his decision was final. Arthur looked down, letting a single silent sob escape. He picked up his staff and slowly laid it at Germania's feet, knowing that this was it… He stood and looked at Germania one last time, his eyes pleading to stay. But his elder said nothing and Arthur walked out, not knowing what to do now…_

* * *

Arthur sighed and shook his head, getting rid of those awful memories for now. He looked back up from where he was staring at the water and saw his new home in the distance.

The home looked rather large from the boat as it was up on a hill and it had an impressive view of the lake. It was a very modern home, and part of it was just made of glass and steel. Arthur had to admit that it was lovely. He wouldn't mind moving there permanently, if only to get out of the city and not have to deal with anyone anymore…

As soon as Arthur got settled, he pulled out his phone. He wanted to get this assignment over and dome with and just relax for a while. He dialed Francis and pressed the phone to his ear and waited.

_"Mon amour, how are you doing? Get to the location alright?"_ Francis asked happily. Arthur could almost see him grinning.

"I'm fine," Arthur said, going out to pace on the back deck. "So, who's my target."

_"The client wanted you there a few days early, it's part of the deal,"_ Francis said. It was his way of saying he was as clueless as Arthur.

"Why?"

_"No idea. He just wants you to wait."_

"I just want to get this over with."

_"Hey, me too. I miss you already. Hey, why don't you tell me about the view? I heard it's gorgeous out there. I mean you go the—"_

Arthur snapped his phone shut with a loud sigh and looked out to the sparkling lake. The frog was right, the view was breathtaking. It looked like something out of a painting or a fairy tale. Arthur turned away from it and started to go back into the house.

"One, two, three four…" Arthur counted as he walked.

Arthur went into his bathroom and dumped out his shopping back filled with his new toiletries. He started to arrange the various bottles and tubes and such several time, taking things out of boxes, putting them back in. It was an elaborate puzzle to the blonde that only he knew.

He quickly finished and walked out, leaving a perfect square shape out of the items.

Arthur then walked into the kitchen, a container of coffee in hand. He put it down on the island and noticed a very large fruit basket in the middle of the granite counter. It had all kinds of fruit and scones and croissants in it with a small note form Francis. It read:

_"Spoil yourself with some yum yums! :D_

_~Francis"_

Arthur sighed and smiled slightly. That frog really did know how to cheer him up. However, the basket didn't stay intact for long as Arthur started to pull out all the fruit and breads. Again, he started to arrange the items in a puzzle, his mind focus completely on a task that he was doing subconsciously.

Arthur sighed as he finished and walked away, leaving all the fruits in perfect lines and symmetry, again, a perfect square. It had become a habit that Arthur didn't even know he had.

Arthur dove into the water of the lake, feeling every second of the water consuming him. It felt nice, the water was warm even though outside was cold. It was December, after all. The blonde swam up, having to come up for air, and arched an overly bushy eyebrow at what he saw.

He was in a swimming pool in some large mansion. The roof overhead was made completely of glass and steel, letting in light from the noonday sun. There was an opening in the tiled walls that was surrounded in wrought iron that was bent into an intricate design.

Arthur panicked. He knew this place and his eyes went wide at just the sight of it. He pushed himself back under the water and stayed there for a minute, hoping that when he came back up, the vision would be gone…

_A ten year old Arthur popped his head out from underneath the water, gasping for breath. He never hated these exercises, but they were just so tedious…_

_"Come on, Arthur, keep peddling," he heard his father say. He looked over to his father, a smartly dressed man with a light blue dress shirt and kakhi pants on with leather shoes. He was standing near the edge of the pool, clapping his hands in a steady rhythm to get Arthur to go faster. "Five more minutes!"_

_Arthur gave him a thumbs up. He could feel himself getting more and more drained every second he was in the pool. He started to tread water using his arms as well just to stay above. He could see himself getting below the surface several times._

_"Hey, don't use your hands. Don't be lazy, only use your feet," his father scolded, and Arthur nodded again. "Let's go! Let's push, push, push, push!"_

_"Nicholas, honey, please, he's just a kid," Arthur heard his mother say from above. He looked over to his mother, who was standing on a small walkway that leads into her indoor garden. His mother was in a beautiful floral dress and her blonde hair was up in curls. Her green eyes shined as she smiled at her son._

_"Keep going, Arthur," his father said in a calmer voice. He had his hands on his hips and a disapproving look on his face. "Keep going."_

_Arthur gasped for air as he tried to stay above water. But, despite his efforts, he went under again…_

Arthur gasped as he reached the surface again, looking frantically around. He saw the normal view of the lake and his home above him and the calm of the country. He sighed and swam over to land and got out.

Arthur sighed as he pulled his clothes on. These visions of his past they were… unsettling. He had wanted nothing to do with his past for such a long time…

Arthur stopped as he pulled his shirt over his head. He felt something very strange, but it passed in a second. He shrugged the feeling off and picked up his towel and placed it on his head. He started to dry his hair off as he walked into the house.

As he walked into the living room, he stopped short, sensing someone in the house. His eyes darted around, looking for anything to use as a weapon. His Sais were tucked away with his luggage and out of reach. His eyes settled on a box cutter and quickly grabbed it and exposed some of the blade. He placed the towel down and moved slowly, not wanting to startle his intruder.

He saw a shadow move from the staircase that led up to the kitchen. Arthur slowly and silently climbed the stairs, looking over the floor as soon as he could. He saw someone run out of his kitchen and towards the door and jumped up to the second floor. He moved to his left and saw the intruder run past him. He tossed the box cutter with the precision of the ace assassin that he was and caught the intruder's sleeve on the wall. The young boy looked at the knife in shock and then back at Arthur.

Arthur walked over to his intruder to get a better look at him. The intruder was a boy, probably no older than 16. He had short black hair that framed his face and chocolate brown eyes. His skin had a slightly yellow undertone, showing Arthur right away his intruder was Asian. The boy looked at him, defiance and fear in his eyes.

"Jesus, what's the matter with you, you could have killed me!" the boy snapped, not knowing how right that statement was. Arthur glared down at the boy, not saying a word for a minute as he walked over so that he could look the boy in the eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur demanded, not taking any bullshit from this punk.

"Nothing. I'm friends with the Wheelwrights," the boy said, still looking between the blade and Arthur with defiance. The boy pulled the knife out of the wall, freeing his sweater's sleeve. He groaned and stuck the knife into a nearby post. "Damn it, you cut my freaking jacket." The boy turned and was about to leave when Arthur grabbed his arm and turned him back around.

"How did you get it?" Arthur said calmly, staring the boy down.

"The front door was unlocked…" the boy said, his eyes now wide with fear.

"No it wasn't," Arthur said, knowing for a fact that he locked his door.

"Yeah it was!" the boy snapped, getting annoyed now. Arthur just passed tight by him, moving to the front door. The boy followed, trying to defend himself. "Look, the people who live here let me in all the time. Ask anybody."

Arthur ignored the boy and opened the door. He tried to lock and chuckled to himself.

"Hmm, it's broken," he muttered. He closed the door and sighed.

"So who are you anyways?" the boy asked. "My name's Kiku."

"What did you steal?" Arthur asked, turning on the boy.

"Nothing," Kiku said, that look of defiance back in his eyes. "What do you think I am?"

Arthur merely grabbed the boy's wrist and glared at the fisted hand. He fought slightly to get it open, but inside the boy's palm was his necklace. It had been a gift from his mother, it was a silver chain and it's pendant had his name in an open cartouche.

"Please don't call the cops…" Kiku asked, his voice small. "My brother will kill me…"

"In some parts of the world they just cut your hands off," Arthur said, looking straight into Kiku's eyes and scaring the boy.

Kiku turned and tried to run, but as soon as he turned around, Arthur was right in front of him, a deadly look on his face. Kiku gasped and stumbled back a bit before he gained his bearings. He looked behind him and then back at Arthur with a mystified look in his chocolate brown eyes.

"How did you do that?" Kiku asked, astonishment in his voice.

"Get out of here," Arthur whispered, making Kiku that much more afraid.

Kiku just backed up and went to the door, his eyes never leaving Arthur. He nodded slightly and walked out of the house, shaking his head all the way home.

* * *

**this was a long chapter. it started on page 14 and ended on page 23.**

**longest one so far.**

**ARTHUR'S OCD! 8DDDD**

**i don't know why that makes me happy, but it does!**

**anyway, love it? hate it? want to stab it and eat it? tell me what you think! R&R would be lovely!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Proposal

**A/N: chapter 4 is finally here! there WOULD have been more, but i slept till noon today so... ^^; anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

Chapter 4

_A ten year old Arthur skipped down the driveway, not a care in the world at all. He walked into the house and immediately started running up the stairs._

_"Mom?" he called out in his tiny, ten year old voice._

_He ran up the steps as fast as he could, eager to be by his mother's side. But as he passed his bedroom, he stopped. The door was closed, but he saw a shadow move under the doorway. He walked towards it, wondering if his mother was in the room. He gripped the handed that was just above his head with both hands and opened the door. The room was all white, blinding the small boy for a second._

_He took a few blind steps into the room when a large horned monster appeared in front of him. Arthur screamed and fell back, staring into the red eyes of the shadowy monster. Then, the monster was at the window, still staring at the boy. Then it was gone._

* * *

Arthur bolted upright in bed, the nightmare leaving him hyperventilating. He took a few shaky breaths and calmed himself a little. That nightmare really shook him up, and he expected that monster to be in the room. But a quick look around assured the blond that he was alone. He looked towards the clock and sighed.

"Oh, shit…" the hissed, looking at the bright 2:00 that flashed for a minute on the clock.

Arthur took a deep breath and reached over to his nightstand, grabbing the bottle of pills on it. He looked at the bottle, reading the label a few times even though he knew what they were. His doctor had given him pills for insomnia, which seemed to be what he was having at the moment. He sighed and placed the pills back, figuring that while he was up, he could do something…

* * *

Arthur adjusted his grip on the rope, pulling himself up so that his head just grazed the open beams in the ceiling of his living room. He was already sweating, even though he had only been at it for 30 minutes. He pulled himself up again, not letting his feet touch the ground. His heart was pounding and his muscles were burning, but he continued his little regiment, ignoring everything around him and solely focusing on his task.

Arthur glared at the punching bag, hitting it again with another serious of intricate punches and kicks. He started on another kick when his foot slipped on the hard wood and he fell over. He caught himself just in time and lowered himself to the floor and lay on his back, his chest heaving from exhaustion.

* * *

"You know I can't sit still, Francis. Call me with the name," Arthur said before he hung up the phone.

Arthur put his phone down on the coffee table and laid down on his couch, pulling the blanket over him. He was trying to take a quick nap. But there were so many voices in his head. All of them from recent people, things that happened, even Jones were there, not letting Arthur have a small rest. His eyes stayed open, staring at his phone, wanting it to ring and expel all the voices in his head…

* * *

Arthur sat on a rock ledge near the sea, meditating. He felt the wind hitting his face and calmed. Listening to the sounds of nature, feeling the sun hitting his face and the wind blowing through his hair and his mind completely empty… it was the second best feeling in the world (can you guess what the first is?). He felt completely calm, like he was a rock that the water had smoothed over time.

Arthur felt his consciousness being pulled as he saw a vision behind his closed eyes. He saw the clouds move quickly, but not for long before he saw a man walking up to him. The man seemed to be about his age, with long dark colored hair in a pony tail and light eyes. He looked slightly childish in his face, but there was a look in his eyes that said he's seen things far beyond his years. He was wearing some sort of Chinese Mandarin shirt in a dark color and light colored Chinese pants. Arthur couldn't tell the colors of anything, since his visions appeared to him in black and white.

Arthur opened his eyes and looked off to his right and, sure enough, that man was coming towards him. Now that Arthur saw him properly, the man had dark brown hair and golden eyes. His Chinese shirt was a forest green color and his pants were yellow. What an odd combination, Arthur thought. This man also had the same yellow undertone in his skin that Kiku had, so he assumed they must be related somehow. And Arthur wouldn't put it out of his mind to think that they were father and son…

The man had been looking down on his walk, so when he picked his head up to look at Arthur, the blonde was no longer there.

"Looking for me?" Arthur asked the man, having appeared behind him. The man jumped nearly a foot in the air, turning to look at Arthur in shock.

"Hi, aru," the man said, looking back at the rock and then at Arthur. "Are you the new tenant, aru?" the man pointed back towards Arthur's house and said, "Eddie Ferris, the realtor, said that a young man had taken it for the month, aru."

"What do you want?" Arthur asked, looking at the man with an expressionless face, which scared the Asian. The man had opened his mouth to say something else, and then closed it.

"Sorry, this is kinda awkward but, uhh… have you seen a young boy, 16 years old, with really short black hair, aru?" the man asked with a sigh. "He's my brother, Kiku, aru. We had a bit of a fight…"

"I saw him late afternoon," Arthur said, cutting the man off from his rambling.

"Oh you did, aru?" the man asked, a small bit of hope in his voice.

"Yes, that git broke into my house," Arthur said with a twisted smirk, making the Asian cringe.

"Shit, really?" the man asked, his voice suggesting that this had happened before. Arthur just stared at him with a black face. "He knows the Wheelwrights who—" the man cut himself off with a sigh. "He didn't take anything did he, aru?"

"No," Arthur said, withholding the information that Kiku almost did.

"Good, good, aru," the man said, obviously relieved. "Look, if he broke anything, I'm happy to pay for it, aru. I'm Yao Wang, aru." He held out his hand for a handshake. "We're in the little cabin, two houses down."

There was a small and awkward silence as they two looked at each other. Arthur didn't move and didn't say anything, and Yao stood there like an idiot.

"Okay," Yao said, pulling his hand back. "Thank you, aru."

Yao gave Arthur a small bow before walking off, back to his cabin. Arthur just stood there for a minute, not really sure what just happened.

* * *

_"Bonjour, you've reached Francis Bonnefoy. Just leave your name. Do not leave a message"_ Francis's machine said to Arthur through the phone.

"Francis," Arthur said, knowing that Francis would recognize his voice. "I'm sick of sitting here. We don't get a name soon, I'm walking."

Arthur hung up the phone, and stared into space for a while, thinking that meditating again would be a good idea. He got up from where he was sitting in the staircase and stretched quickly, hearing his back crack. He grabbed his red wool shall that Francis bought him and wrapped it around himself, feeling the immediate warmth he got from the item.

He walked out of his house and went down to the dock on his property. He tried in vain for twenty minutes to clear his mind, but there were so many things going on that he couldn't focus. He had gotten a bad vibe from Yao, and Kiku wasn't much better. He got the feeling that there was more to these two than meets the eye. And then not being able to know his target for this long was driving him insane. He needed to know soon…

"Hey."

Arthur calmly turned around to see Kiku standing there on dry land, his arms crossed and a defiant look on his face.

"How long have you been standing there?" Arthur asked calmly.

"Like a minute," Kiku said with a shrug. He sighed and started to walk over to Arthur, glaring at the back of the Brit's head. "What did you tell me brother? That I broke into your house?"

"Yeah, because you did break in," Arthur said, matching Kiku's defiant tone with one of his own.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to tell him," Kiku said, going to stand just in front of Arthur. "I thought you were cool."

"I'm not," Arthur said in a 'hate to break it to you' voice.

"Yeah, no kidding," Kiku said, putting his hands on his hips. "Now he's on my case. He's made me come ask you to spend Christmas dinner with us."

"Have what?" Arthur asked, a look of genuine confusion on his face as he turned slightly to face the teen.

"Christmas," Kiku said, shocked that Arthur didn't know or was just playing dumb. "Dinner. December 25th." There was a small silence as Kiku tried to comprehend what was going on. Did his Brit really not know… "Did you know that today's Christmas?"

"Thank you," Arthur said, finally speaking. "I can't. I have something to do."

"What?" Kiku asked, knowing that Arthur was spouting bullshit. "Everything's closed. You're on an island." Kiku could see that the defiant method wasn't working. He decided to switch tactics and went with the polite teenager. "Come on, please?" Arthur looked at him strangely. "It's just the two of us every night… and I'm bored out of my skull…"

Arthur watched Kiku for a second and saw that the teen was looking at something behind him. Arthur turned and saw the Asian looking at the house. He seemed focused on it, like he didn't even know what he was doing…

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked, breaking the boy out of his trance.

"Nothing, why?" Kiku asked, a little confused.

"Were you counting?" Arthur asked, a serious look on his face.

"No," Kiku said in a normal tone. Arthur just sighed. "So, will you come? Please? Because if you don't I'll just keep breaking into your house. Hmm?"

Arthur saw that he was stuck. He really didn't want this kid in his house, thinking that he'd find all his weapons sooner or later. He sighed and looked down at himself.

"I have to change my clothes," Arthur said simply. He turned and started his walk back to his house.

"Great!" Kiku said with a smile. "I'm Kiku." Arthur stopped and turned back to look at Kiku.

"Arthur," Arthur said simply and continued his walk.

"Arthur," Kiku said, almost as if seeing how the named felt coming from his mouth. He just shrugged happily. "Cool.

* * *

**7 pages and it still doesn't look like much...**

**oh well.**

**i RLY hate writing Yao's line, i keep forgetting to put the ARU at the end!**

**anyway, love it? hate it? want to smother it with kisses? tell me what you think! R&R is a lovely thing to do! it keeps me writing!**


	6. Chapter 5: Christmas Dinner

**A/N: CHAPTER 5! and i think this one really IS my longest one yet... it was also 7 pages... *sighs* anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Yao whistled an old tune from China as he cooked. He flipped the contents of his wok a few times before letting it sit and went to another item on the 6 burner stove. He happily started to stir some kind of soup when he heard the wok starting to sizzle. He quickly jumped over to it and dumped the contents into another platter with a smile. He turned to put the platter on the island and saw the door open. Kiku walked in, having disappeared that afternoon and it was now dark out.

"I told you not to leave the house, aru" Yao said with a sigh.

"You didn't even know I was gone," Kiku said, walking over to Yao and standing on the other side of the island.

"Kiku," Yao groaned, taking off his oven mitts as Kiku grabbed a small piece of chicken off the platter and popped it in his mouth.

"Chill, Yao, we have a guest," Kiku said with a smirk, moving away so that Yao could see a very confused Arthur standing in the doorway.

There was an awkward silence as Arthur walked in a littler father, staring down Kiku for all he was worth. Yao held in a sigh and kept his hands behind his back so that he didn't strangle his brother. Kiku just stood there with a smug smirk on his face while he nibbled on another piece of chicken.

"I'm sorry. He told me that you invited me," Arthur said, looking at Yao for the first time. He could clearly see that Yao was just as confused as he was. "I don't want to—" Arthur cut himself off and started to turn towards the door. "I'll just—"

Arthur started to leave, pulling his red shall closer to him. Kiku turned back to his brother with wide eyes, making soft 'no' sounds and trying to be subtle. Yao sighed and gave his brother a look that said 'shut it or I'll strangle you'.

"No. Please stay, aru" Yao said, stopping Arthur just as he got to the door. "I'm—I'm glad you're here, aru."

The soft Chinese music continued in the background, making the seconds of silence more awkward. Arthur simply closed the door and took a few steps towards Yao, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Um, can I get a beer, wine, tea…?" Yao asked, trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

"Water, please," Arthur said, a soft smile on his face.

"His name's Arthur, Yao," Kiku said, looking between the two of them before walking off with a smirk.

"Arthur? Arthur what, aru?" Yao asked, going back to his stove to make sure nothing burned.

"Arthur Kirkland," Arthur said, taking a long wiff of the food already done.

"Like the tragedy, aru?" Yao asked with a small chuckle as he continued to cook. "Your parents must have had a sense of humor, aru."

"Not really," Arthur said with a shrug and a soft chuckle.

The smile that was on Yao's face faded and he went back to his wok, stirring intently.

"Do you need help?" Arthur asked, looking at the recipe book. "It looks complicated."

"Not really, it's a simple dish, aru…" Yao said, looking at the book and then laughing. "No wonder you think it's complicated, it's all in Japanese, aru."

"I can read Japanese," Arthur said, picking up the book and reading it over a few times. "Actually I think I've tried this before…"

"Oh? You like Asian foods, aru?" Yao asked, putting yet another thing on a platter.

"My fiancé likes to take me to out to eat at a lot of different places," Arthur said, his eyes not straying from the book. "And my apartment is near China Town, so it's usually easiest to go there…"

"You're engaged?" Yao asked, a look of shock on his face. And was that… disappointment that Arthur heard…? He then chuckled, causing Kiku to look at him in shock from the other room. "Alright, I won't pry, aru."

"Thanks," Arthur said, giving Yao a small smile. He then shook his head slightly and sighed. "You never answered my question."

"Which one was that, aru?" Yao asked, looking a little confused.

"Do you need help?" Arthur asked again.

"I think I answered that, aru," Yao said, a small smirk on his face as he pointed his spatula at Arthur.

"No, I don't think you did," Arthur said with a mirroring smirk, leaning on the counter.

"Are you trying to confuse me, aru?" Yao asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Is it working?" Arthur asked with a small chuckle.

Kiku smirked and turned to sit normally on the couch and picked up his manga again.

* * *

"So when he saw all the cute girls that liked me—just as friends, Yao—he _accidentally_ spilled poster paint ALL over my model of the Taj Mahal," Kiku said as he retold the story while the three ate dinner. They had all taken a seat on a different side of the table, Arthur and Yao sat at the two heads and Kiku sat between them on the sides. "So I put glue in his shoes. I got suspended for that and then expelled for fighting. But that was way back in the day in—um… Hong Kong…"

"So, I was a little surprised to see you take the Wheelwright place, aru," Yao said to Arthur, taking a sip of his tea. "Not many renters this time of year, aru."

"Oh, I'm only here for the month for work," Arthur said, taking another bite of God only knows what but it tasted good.

"What do you do anyway?" Kiku asked, tiling his head to the side.

"Oh, layoffs, payroll reduction," Arthur said with a shrug, making it sound like nothing. "That sort of thing."

"Hmm," Kiku said, nodding slightly. "Sounds boring."

"Kiku," Yao snapped lightly, making Kiku look at his brother in shock.

"No, it is boring," Arthur said before an all out war could begin. Arthur looked back at Kiku and smiled. "I like your bracelet, by the way. So you know that those are? Here," Arthur motioned for Kiku to hold up his arm so that the Brit could see the beads better. "They're warrior beads. They're from Indonesia. Centuries ago, you needed to be the best fighter in your village to earn them."

"Cool," Kiku said, retracting his arm. "I bought them off eBay."

There was another small silence and Arthur wondered briefly why that kept happening lately. He figured a change of topic would be a good idea.

"Is there a school here on the island?" Arthur asked, taking another bit of something that was green and leafy.

"We're trying home schooling for a while, aru," Yao said, taking another sip of tea.

"I read at college level and I'm doing algebra one on my own," Kiku said in a mater-of-fact tone.

"He's a good student, aru," Yao said with a sigh as his shoulder's sagged a little. "It's the behavioral stuff that's been a problem."

Kiku leaned over to Arthur, as if telling him some big secret and said quietly, "I have authority issues and I don't handle bullshit well."

Both adults snapped at Kiku for his language. Kiku shrunk back in his chair, trying to disappear. Arthur had spoken calmly to him and Yao just yelled. He was REALLY starting to like the Brit better, even if he didn't like British people…

The silence pressed down on them in the room after the outburst. Even the music had stopped playing for a while. It was uncomfortable and it made all three men want to squirm.

"It's okay," Arthur said, making Kiku smile slightly.

* * *

Arthur stood out on the front porch, leaning on the wooden railing. He pulled his red shawl closer and sighed. He pressed some of the fabric to his nose and took a deep breath. Even after all this time, the shall still smelled like Francis. It called the blonde's frazzled nerves. He couldn't even imagine what the Frenchie was doing at the moment.

Arthur felt like he was in another world. He couldn't think straight at the moment. He had a bad feeling about these two brothers. He just wished that he could be home in Manhattan, relaxing with his fiancé. He didn't want to do this for a while. Like he told Francis, he needed a breather…

Arthur turned the corner of the house and saw a light from one of the windows. Through the curtains, he could see Kiku in his night clothes, all ready for bed. He saw as he gave his brother a hug and then crawled under his blankets. Yao gave him a small kiss on the forehead and turned off the lights and then left the room.

Arthur walked back to the front of the house, shuddering slightly as bad memories from his past come back. He shook his head and dispelled the images. He looked back over the railing and out towards the water and sighed.

"Hey, aru."

Arthur turned around and saw Yao come out to the porch with two, half full wine glasses in hand. Yao walked over to him with and chuckled slightly.

"Suddenly I got a teenager on my hands," Yao said, making both of them chuckle.

"He's hard on himself," Arthur said, his smile fading.

"You can tell, huh?" Yao asked sadly. "Most people think he's a slacker." Yao handed Arthur one of the glasses with a small smile.

"No, I shouldn't…" Arthur said, not really liking the look of the red wine. It reminded him too much of…

"Merry Christmas?" Yao asked, holding up the glass hopefully. At that moment, Yao remained Arthur a lot of Kiku.

Arthur took the glass, but didn't drink any. Yao took a small sip and leaned against the railing, looking out onto the lake. It was silent again for a minute before Arthur asked a question that was nagging at the back of his mind.

"Where are his parents?" Arthur asked, not really meaning to be rude. But he could tell that they two weren't related by blood. Yao just sighed.

"We have no idea," Yao said calmly. "My parents adopted him from Japan when he was a baby."

"And your parents?" Arthur asked, knowing that Yao looked far too young to be on his own with a teenager.

"They died about two years ago," Yao said, looking down at the ground.

"Back in Hong Kong?" Arthur asked with a knowing hint in his voice.

"Yeah," Yao said with another sigh. "There was a drunk driver…" Yao took another sip of his wine, looking at Arthur with a thoughtful expression.

"My parents died when I was young," Arthur said, looking down at the ground. He looked back up at Yao, realizing that he said too much. "I should go. I have work."

"Come on, it's early," Yao said, looking at a clock. It was nearing 11.

"Thanks for dinner," Arthur said, putting his glass down on the railing.

Yao looked back as saw that Arthur was gone. Yao looked around, hoping to see a flash of red. But he saw nothing and sighed. He grabbed the other glass and walked back inside the cabin, muttering something about a ghost.

* * *

**YAY! chapter 5!**

**i almost put chapter 6 instead of five...**

**FAIL!**

**i started to post this on . if anyone wants the link, i'll give it to them!**

**ARTHUR AND FRANCIS ARE ENGAGED!**

**i NEEDED to add that, cause it was a VERY nice twist, and it will come in handy later!**

**anyway, all, ENJOY!**

**btw, this was ALSO 7 pages!**

**so what do you think? love it? hate it? want to chase it with pitchforks? R&R's are a lovely thing!**


	7. Chapter 6: The Target

**A/N: chapter 6 and there's more to come today! out of fear of giving a spoiler, let's begin!**

* * *

Chapter 6

_Arthur looked at his mother's bloody body, not a single readable expression on his ten year old face. He saw a necklace, slightly covered in blood, and picked it up. It had his name in silver inside an open cartouche. He held it tightly in his hands and laid his head down on his mother's stomach. He looked at his mother's closed eyes, wondering when she was going to wake up…_

* * *

Arthur bolted upright when his phone started to right. He took a deep breath and grabbed the phone, not bothering with the caller I.D. He knew who it was.

_"Bonjour, mon amour,"_ Francis said in a voice that was WAY too cheery. _"You just got a delivery."_

Arthur stared into space for a second. So what, now Francis was stalking him again? He had thought they got PAST that…

Arthur just sighed and looked all around for the Frenchie before going to the door. Francis was rambling about something stupid. Arthur saw a white, legal sized envelope propped up in front of his door. He grabbed it and started to open it, not even bothering to keep the phone pressed to his ear. He threw the envelope into the fire place while he kept the contents in his hands. He sat down on the couch and sighed.

"You frog, shut up for one minute, will you?" Arthur snapped, looking at the first page. "It's a double."

_"Oui, which makes double the money,"_ Francis said on the other line. _"That's why the big bucks."_

Arthur put the front page aside to look at the picture of his targets and froze. The first picture was Yao, walking down the beach. He had sunglasses on, and his back was to the camera and his head was turned around, but it was defiantly him.

_"What's the matter?"_ Francis asked, not liking Arthur's silence.

"Nothing," Arthur said, making his voice sound as normal as possible.

_"Good,"_ Francis said, his smile audible through the phone. _"Then there'll be no problems."_

Arthur turned the page to see his other target and nearly dropped the phone. Kiku was there in black and white, his hands on his hips and looking defiant as ever. Arthur closed his eyes and turned the papers over, not wanting to look at them.

"I'll call you when it's done," Arthur said, closing the phone.

* * *

Arthur went into his leather bag, his breathing shaky and uneven. He pulled his Sais from their case and flipped them a few times in his hands. He couldn't believe he was really going to do this…

Before he could get cold feet, Arthur stood and fled his house, heading for the Asian brother's home…

* * *

Arthur slinked up to their front door, seeing it closed. He flipped his Sais again, just to remind him of what he had to do. He moved silently onto the porch and hid beneath an open window.

"So, how's algebra going?" Arthur heard Yao asked.

"Alright," Kiku said, rummaging through a drawer most likely.

"Need any help?" Yao asked.

"No," Kiku said. "Don't put those CDs there! They go in my room!"

"Alright, alright, aru," Yao said, moving further into the house.

Arthur could feel himself sweating. He gripped his Sais tighter, hoping that they wouldn't slip out of his sweaty palms and alert the brother's of his presence. He couldn't believe he was going to do this…

Arthur shocked himself. He never had second thoughts about doing away with his targets, so why was this any different? Was it because he knew them? That had to be it… Arthur couldn't kill them in cold blood.

Arthur let out a few shaky breaths that were just a little too loud. Kiku and Yao heard him and knew that there was someone sneaking around.

"I'll go," Kiku said, just before Yao grabbed his wrist.

"No, let me check," Yao said, moving silently to the window.

Arthur's mind was moving at the speed of light. He could hear Yao coming closer. This was it. Now or never…

Yao leaned over the open window and saw no one there. His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked around, hoping to see someone fleeing away or hiding nearby. But as much as he looked, there was nothing there.

"What was it?" Kiku asked, his entire system on high alert.

"Nothing, just the wind," Yao said, closing the window as he walked back inside.

Arthur cursed himself as soon as he got into the house. He couldn't do it! Why the fuck not? They're just another assignment, Arthur tried to reason to himself. This can't be happening…

Arthur tossed his Sais to the side, not really caring where they ended up. He went into his closet and pulled out a stainless steel case. If he couldn't kill them up close, he had to do it from afar. This way, he could trick his mind. If he was standing over the bodies with their blood on him, it would have been hard to convince himself that he didn't just kill them in cold blood.

Arthur opened the care and started to piece together the gun. The gun was an elaborate puzzle, made especially for him. He quickly pieced the sniper together, with the scope, a muffler, everything. Ever bit and bob you could think of for a gun was there. It was just a tedious set up. And that's why Arthur loved it.

He picked up the finished product and left the house, steeling his mind to the task to come.

* * *

Arthur found a rock outcropping that was covered with brush and a perfect view of the Asian's home. Arthur rested his gun down and laid flat on his stomach. He saw Yao on the back porch through the scope, talking and laughing with his brother over algebra.

Arthur kept seeing the assignment papers flashing in his mind. The pictures of the brothers with the words TERMINATION in bright red letters. Arthur shook his head, trying to clear him mind. He lined up the scope again and put his finger on the trigger.

It's not or never, Arthur said to himself. Just pull the trigger. You can do it… come on…

Arthur could feel a bead of sweat run down his face. This was nerve wracking. Just do it already!

But he couldn't. Arthur sighed and sat back up, pulling the gun up with him. Francis was right, he was crashing. But he couldn't kill these two. Something inside him was telling him not to do it.

So, with that thought in mind, Arthur stood and walked back to his house, his mind realing.

* * *

**Arthur can't kill them! good boy, Artie, good boy!**

**lols, he's a dog nao! XD**

**so, love it? hate it? want to cuddle Arthur and huggle him to death? tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 7: Assassin

**A/N: didn't i say three updates today? huh, huh? well, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

"What do you mean you're not doing it?" Francis asked, walking through his vineyards. "Not now or not ever?"

"Too many variables, not enough background," Arthur said, locking up his home and leaving. His bags were packed and he getting on the next ship out.

"Background?" Francis asked, a little freaked out. "A, they're just going to send someone else."

Arthur closed his phone, not believing that he just heard that! He sighed and looked at the keys to the house. He tossed them into the bushes and walked out to the main docks.

* * *

The bell for the ship tolled several times as the new arrivals were being let off the ship. Arthur stood on the docs, watching as they all passed by. He had his back to where they were all walking and watched out of the corner of his eye.

Arthur felt something not right. He turned to get a better look at the new arrivals when he felt his consciousness being pulled. He closed his eyes and saw another black and white vision. Kiku was screaming as a mirror he was next to broke from something shooting it.

The vision ended there and it left Arthur uneasy. He looked back towards the boat as people were boarding and narrowed his eyes.

* * *

It was raining on the island, something that hadn't happened there for a while. Yao went around the house, closing up all the windows. He thanked whatever god would listen that he had the roof redone or they would have had some serious leakage. It was pouring buckets outside, and Yao was perfectly content to stay inside and do nothing.

As Yao moved away from the window, assassins ran by, silently and quickly. They all hid behind large logs several meters away from the home itself while one jumped onto the roof, quiet as a mouse.

Kiku sighed as he listened to the news. The weatherman was making such a big deal about this storm. And it didn't help Kiku's mood since the TV kept going off every few seconds.

"I'll get sandbags from the shed," Yao said, pulling his coat on.

"You know, this is such a joke," Kiku said, popping some more popcorn into his mouth. "They make it sound all exciting when it's just rain."

"If you're not too busy, young man," Yao started, handing Kiku a roll of duct tape, "feel free to tape the windows." Kiku just shrugged and waiting till his brother had his back turned to go back to watching TV. "Now!"

Yao walked onto the porch and sighed. He hated rain as much as the next guy. But he needed to go out there, get soaked, and then come back in and drip water all over the place just to get some dumb sandbags. Oh no, Kiku was rubbing off on him.

The assassin on the roof ran to the end, not making a sound. He laid flat on his stomach with his head looking over the edge, waiting for Yao to step right beneath him.

Yao got to the edge of the porch, not out in the rain just yet. He was about to move he heard his name.

"Yao!" Arthur called from behind him. Yao turned to see Arthur standing in front of the door, dry as a bone and no jacket on. "Can I talk to you?" Yao shrugged and walked back over to Arthur, pulling his gloves off. "Can we talk inside?"

Yao was about to ask Arthur what was wrong, but decided against it. He really didn't want to know what was up. "Yeah, sure."

Yao walked in ahead of Arthur, who stayed outside a little longer. He walked towards the end of the porch, flipping his Sais out in the process. At the end, he jumped up and plunged his Sai into the roof, stabbing the assassin as well. As Arthur pulled his blade out, the assassin was blown away in a mess of green smoke and dust.

Arthur flipped his Sais back against his arms and ran into the house, locking the door behind him. The assassins still outside panicked for a second before deciding to move in.

"Hey, what's up?" Kiku asked, walking into the foyer were Arthur was pulling off his red leather over coat and Yao was pulling off his rain coat.

"Can you go to your bedroom for a minute, Kiku?" Arthur asked, his tone dead serious. "I need to talk to your brother." Kiku faltered for a second, looking between the two older men. "NOW."

"Go, Kiku," Yao said, pushing Kiku towards his room.

Once Kiku was far enough away, Arthur stepped right into Yao's face, his green eyes flashing dangerously. Yao gulped audibly.

"Who are you?" Arthur demanded, his voice laced with venom. "Don't lie to me."

"What?" Yao asked, trying to play dumb.

"They won't just kill you," Arthur said, knowing that Yao knew exactly what he was talking about. "They'll kill Kiku."

Yao looked down at the ground, wondering exactly how much he should tell the blonde. But Arthur wouldn't give him time. The blonde saw the other assassin through the window, aiming a gun at Yao.

"Damn it!" Arthur snapped, pushing Yao out of the way just as a dart whizzed past their heads and embedded itself in the mantle.

Yao ran farther into the house, grabbing Kiku, who was listening to them, on the way and Arthur right behind them. The assassin continued to shoot darts at them, but narrowly missing them buy a few centimeters. The three ran to the back and Yao shoved Kiku into the wall in the bathroom.

"Stay with Kiku," Arthur said before he closed the door on the two.

Arthur turned around and took a few steps away from the door, closing his eyes as he had another vision. He saw the assassin opening the door that was just in front of the blonde, gun in hand.

When Arthur opened his eyes, the assassin was right there, the dart gun not six inches from his face. Arthur gasped and threw himself to the ground as the assassin fired off the remaining darts in the gun. Several of the darts went through the door of the bathroom, missing the brothers by inches. One of the darts shattered the mirror that Kiku was next to. The Japanese screamed, snapping Arthur back into reality.

Arthur flipped onto his back, just at the ninja was reloading his gun. As the ninja leaned down to shoot Arthur, the blond kicked the man in the face, making his stumbled back a few feet. Arthur jumped to his feet and kicked the man in the chest, then set off a complicated serious of kicks and punches to the man's face and chest, making him stumble back into te living room.

"Arthur!" Kiku screamed, running to open the door.

"Kiku, no!" Yao cried, trying to stop his brother.

But it was too late. Kiku ran out into the hall, just as Arthur was able to get the man on his knees. The blonde then kicked him quickly on the head to get the ninja on his back. The ninja raised his gun again, but Arthur kicked it out of his hands and sent it skidding under the coffee table. Somewhere in the fighting, Arthur had grabbed one of the poison tipped darts, and now stabbed the man in the back with it, stunning him for a second.

However, it didn't stun him long enough. The ninja scrambled to sit up and found himself against the wall. He pulled out a shuriken and was about to toss it at Arthur, but the blonde was too quick. Arthur threw one of his Sais at the man, getting him right in the palm of the hand that held the shuriken and pinning said hand to the wall. The shuriken fell from his grasp and imbedded itself in the floor.

Arthur let out a deep breath as the ninja tried to struggle. Arthur pulled out his other Sai, just as the Asian's ran over to stand by Arthur. The Brit flipped his Sai out as he walked over to the ninja, a deadly glint in his emerald eyes. Arthur pulled down the ninja's mask and held the tip of the Sai at his throat.

"Who sent you?" Arthur asked the ninja in perfect Japanese, which made Kiku and Yao gasp.

"In a moment, you will know," the ninja replied, also in Japanese, with a smug smirk on his face.

"No," Arthur whispered, just as the ninja's neck spun around and broke of its own accord. Kiku gasped and clung to Yao as the ninja disappeared just like the other. "Damn it."

Arthur pulled his Sai out of the wall and stood, mumbling curses to himself. He walked up to the brothers and looked both of them in the eye.

"There'll be more coming," Arthur said, his entire aura screaming to not be messed with. "What's coming next will be worse."

* * *

**Welp, i really think that's quite enough for today!**

**anyway, love it? hate it? want to kill it? R&R and tell me how you feel!  
**


	9. Chapter 8: Germania

**A/N: WOOT chapter 8! sorry for the long absence, i was away this weekend with no access to a computer! on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 8

The head members of the Hand all stood around the meeting table, muttering to themselves as they waited for Master Beilschimdt to arrive. There was a calm air in the room as the men chatted, unaware the something more sinister was coming down the hall.

The door to the meeting room flew open and all heads turned to see what happened. They all gasped when they saw who came through that door.

The first person was tall and rather large, wearing a long tan coat and a scarf, even though it was boiling outside. He had a childish face about him and a disarming smile, but his violet eyes showed with a spark that only Gilbert could place.

The next to walk in was an Asian man with an irremovable smirk on his face. His brown eyes glinted with the same spark as the Russian's, only this was more mischievous. He was only wearing half of the upper part of his kimono, revealing large tattoos all over his chest and down his arms and back. There was one tattoo on his shoulder of an eagle. The eagle blinked and watched what was going on.

After him, another young man walked in. He had on a blue military uniform, obviously Italian. The Italian had short, light brown hair with a small curl coming off his left side. Even though he too had a childish appearance, there was a seductive look in his eyes and a certain way he walked that made even the straightest man swoon.

And then in walked Ludwig, the smirk on his face threatening to tear his face in half. The men around the table were all frightened, expect for Gilbert. Ludwig knew that this was going to be more than easy for him.

Master Beilschimdt walked in from his private door and looked at his youngest son. Ludwig fought to keep his expression neutral as his father looked over him and his subordinates. His father merely muttered a few words in German and the men around him sat down, along with himself. He looked around the table briefly before speaking.

"I believe that Ludwig wishes to address the Council of the Hand," the Master said, not breaking eye contact with his son.

"Venerable master," Ludwig began, his tone respectful. "Despite your delicacy and subtly, you have failed to solve the problem of the Treasure." Gilbert snorted and all eyes turned to him.

"Master Beilschimdt gave that task to me," Gilbert said, his little bird chirping slightly from its perch on his shoulder.

"Yes, exactly," Ludwig said with a smirk.

"And my men are taking care of it," Gilbert snapped, making the other men flinch. Ludwig stood his ground.

"Your men are dead!" Ludwig retorted.

"Killed by the assassin Kirkland, the ausländer," their father said calmly.

Gilbert's eyes went wide at the statement, as did the entire room. They all believed that man to be dead, killed a long time ago. But now that the leader of the Hand has stated that the assassin in alive… this just became a whole new ball game…

Gilbert began to sputter incoherently, trying to say something about how it was impossible for that man to be alive. He was not heard, however, as everyone was too busy trying to process what was going on. Gilbert looked to his father for support, who merely looked away. Gilbert sighed, knowing that he was defeated at his own game. He turned and began his walk out of the room. He stopped right in front of his little brother, his crimson orbs staring right into the calm blue of his brother.

"Your forces are an abomination," Gilbert spat out. He grabbed the front of Ludwig's shirt and pulled the blond closer so that all he could see were Gilbert's red eyes. "You and your men will die a most horrible death. I'll see you in Hell, Bruder." Gilbert let Ludwig go and stormed out of the room, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

"Master," Ludwig said, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room. "The Hand cannot afford to lose the Treasure for another generation. So I humbly request that you allow me this task. Perhaps with a little less delicacy… my forces will not be defeated by a mere Brittan."

"The task is yours," His father said almost immediately. "Complete it, and you will have proven yourself worthy of leading this Council." All the men gasped at the statement, wondering how their leader could have given up so easily. "I will step aside."

Ludwig nodded and left the room, a triumphant smirk on his face. Master Beilschimdt stood and so did the other men, all but one. One man on the very end of the table turned his head to look at the Italian boy. The brunette smiled at the council man and blew him a soft kiss before leaving with his comrades. The man's face quickly became a sickly yellow color and started to crack. He coughed loudly, causing the men in the room to stop and look at him. Master Beilschimdt looked at the man and then at the retreating form of the Italian and narrowed his eyes.

* * *

Francis groaned as he listened to Arthur talk on the other end of the phone. He couldn't believe this…

"Oh, that's just great, the Hand! Of all people…" Francis cried, throwing some horse riding gear into the trunk of his car. "Who's going to help you out on this one, A? Germania?"

"Just give me his location," Arthur said as he walked on the deck of the boat.

_"Sure, no problem, I got his handled,_" Francis said before Arthur closed his phone.

Arthur looked out into the lake, wondering how the hell he got himself into this situation. He sighed and shoved his phone back in his pocket, muttering a long string of curses and swears that would make a pirate gasp.

* * *

Arthur drove his bright yellow truck into an alley, passing homeless person after homeless person. Yao looked nearly horrified at the place they were in. He didn't like dark alleyways and now he was going into one willingly… He figured there must be something desperately wrong with him and that he must seek medical help. Kiku looked out the window and figured that it was pretty cool.

Arthur drove the car into a parking lot for a billiard parlor and parked the truck. All the walls surrounding them were covered in graffiti and other types of vandalism. So, naturally, when they got out, they didn't notice the eagle that was watching their every move.

Inside the pool hall, Germania stood next to a table as his opponent took his turn.

"You're up, blind man," the opponent said with a smirk. Germania walked up to where the cue ball was and aimed.

"Double combo: triple carom on the four-three-two-one-six with a bank massé," Germania said, confusing his opponent.

"You don't have to call all your shots, old man, just the first one," the opponent said with a small chuckle in his voice.

"That IS the first one," Germania said as he took his shot. He did exactly what he said he would do and got all his balls into the pockets in one shot.

"Whoa, whoa, you gotta be kidding me," the opponent said with a groan as Germania went around the table to the cue ball.

"Eight ball in the corner," Germania said as the elevator came up. He shook his head and took his shot, making the cue ball jump over another ball and then hit the eight ball, making it go into the corner pocket. His opponent just sighed and shook his head.

"Blind my ass," the man said, putting his stick down.

"Leave your money on the table," Germania said as he too put his stick on the table.

The man operating the elevator pulled the gates up, letting the three in it out. Arthur walked out first with Yao and Kiku close behind. Both Asians had a disgusted look on their face, their whole demeanor screaming that they didn't want to be here. Arthur simply walked over to Germania, who was looking out at nothing.

"Arthur Kirkland," Germania said with a smile. "Same walk. Same cologne even. You never change."

"They need your help," Arthur said, gesturing to the two Asians behind him.

"Over here," Germania said, walking back over to the pool table he was just playing at. He turned to Arthur, his green, glossed over eyes looking right at Arthur.

"This is Yao Wang," Arthur started, looking back at Yao and then at Germania. "Yao and his brother Kiku are being chased by the Hand and they need your protection. I'm leaving them with you. The Hand is your business, not mine."

"And yet you saved their lives," Germania said, a hint of confusion in his voice. "Why? What did you think would happen next?"

"I didn't really have time to think about it," Arthur said, looking down at the ground.

"Blind instinct," Germania said, a smirk in his voice but not on his face. "Then you and I are back where we started, Arthur." Arthur just rolled his eyes. "Did you ever ask why the hand was after them?"

"They don't know," Arthur said with a sigh.

"Really?" Germania asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Mr. Wang doesn't know?"

"I do know…" Yao said, looking down, avoiding the piercing gaze of the Brit standing next to him.

"The Hand wanted something he couldn't give," Germania said, looking pointedly at Kiku. Yao's head shot up and he pushed Kiku a little farther behind him, hiding him from the gaze of the German. "He tried to run."

"And what?" Arthur snapped, his green eyes boring holes in Yao's skull.

"They killed our parents," Kiku said timidly. "In cold blood… I'll never forget…"

"There was no drunk driver," Yao said, holding his brother protectively. "I lied."

"You're on your own," Arthur said, giving Yao a look that would have killed a weaker man. He turned and started on his way out before Germania stopped him.

"Why did you really save them, Arthur?" Germania asked, making the Brit stop mid step. "Some kind of penance? A down payment on your sins?" Germania turned towards Yao and stared at him with unseeing eyes. "Has he told you what he actually does for a living, Mr. Wang?"

"He saved my life and my brother's," Yao snapped, getting really sick of all this mysterious shit. "That's enough for me."

"Then you landed on the lucky side of the street," Germania said, causing Arthur to snap around and glare at him.

"Damn you son of a bitch!" Arthur snapped, storming right over to his former master, ready to shut him up by any means necessary.

However, Germania beat the blonde to the punch. Just as Arthur was about to punch him, Germania grabbed his wrist and spun the blonde around, pinning him to the pool table with a firm grip on his neck. The German let go and gripped his pool stick. Just as Arthur was about to get up, Germania pinned him back down to the table with the stick, keeping him there for a good 30 seconds. Yao stood agape, not really believing that this blind old man just pinned Arthur with little to no effort. He just stared at the Brit as Germania finally let him stand.

"Well, Arthur," Germania started at the blonde walked away. "You haven't changed."

Arthur just stormed over to the elevator and closed the gate, just as Kiku broke free of his brother's grip to follow the blonde. Arthur got out to the parking lot and walked over to his truck, just as Kiku came out of the staircase.

"What are we going to do?" Kiku asked, running after the Brit, Yao right on his heels. "Arthur? What are we going to do?"

"You gotta run," Arthur said, stopping and turning back to face the Japanese boy. "As fast as you can and as far as you can. South America. Africa. Change your name. Change you appearance."

"You're not coming with us?" Kiku asked, stopping a few feet in front of Arthur. He looked at the Brit with his large, chocolate brown eyes that had a hint of something that the Blonde couldn't place.

"No," Arthur said simply, shaking his head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Kiku demanded, now glaring at the blonde with a look that could kill. "Isn't that part of your code or something?"

"I don't have a code, Kiku," Arthur said, glaring back at the boy.

"How are we supposed to defend ourselves?" Kiku snapped, not backing down from the challenge that Arthur so blatantly put up.

"We'll be okay, Kiku," Yao said, putting a hand on Kiku's shoulder and pulling him around.

"No we won't," Kiku said in a voice that was far beyond his years. "Wake up, Yao, we won't! They're going to hunt us down. Just like Mom and Dad."

Yao looked down, knowing that his brother had a very good point. Arthur knew it as well. Those two were not safe anywhere except with Germania. Arthur sighed and looked up at the wall of graffiti, just as the eagle moved his head as looked straight at Arthur. Arthur's eyes widened and he started to breath heavily. Both brothers looked at him oddly.

"Get in the car," Arthur said, making the brothers exchange a look. "I said, get in the car!" Arthur grabbed Kiku's shoulder and pushed him towards the truck, making both jolt.

"What's wrong?" Yao asked, following close behind.

Arthur didn't respond. He just ran for the truck, his hand firmly on Kiku's to make sure the belligerent boy followed. The blonde looked back just in time to see the eagle come off the wall and fly off.

The eagle flew off to the roof of a nearby building where Ludwig and his Asian subordinate were waiting. The eagle went over to the Asian and became smaller and smaller. It flew right onto his shoulder and sunk back into the tattoo, becoming inanimate once again. The Asian took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"She's down the street," the Asian said to Ludwig. "Three blocks over in the parking lot."

"Good job, Yong-Soo," Ludwig said with a smirk. "We need to kill the ausländer assassin first."

"Should we go now?" Yong-Soo asked, looking up at Ludwig for the first time.

"Not here," the German said with a smirk. "Keep track of them."

Ludwig turned and left, going to get everything ready for when they strike. Yong-Soo watched as Ludwig left, his expression unreadable.

**

* * *

well, here we are, chapter 8!**

**for those who are confused, Ivan is Stone, Yong-Soo is Tattoo, and Feliciano is Typhiod.**

**yes, i know, making innocent little Feli Typhiod Mary might not have been the BEST call, but i think it will work later on.**

**and YES Germania IS blind here! Sometime between when Arthur left and now, he lost his eyesight.**

**well, that's all for now. R&R-ing is a lovely thing to do.**


	10. Chapter 9: Crashing

**A/N: chapter 9, finally. just a quicky, when Kiku and Yao are talking and thier words and italicized, it means that they are speaking in Chinese! now on with the show!**

**

* * *

Chapter 9**

Arthur sighed for nearly the millionth time that day. He was overly stressed and hadn't meditated in a few days. He was overly irritable because of this and he felt like ripping heads off. And it didn't help that he had two annoying Asians in the truck with him. Yao was no help at all and just added to all the stress that was building. And then there was Kiku…

Arthur groaned and nearly banged his head against the steering wheel just thinking about the Japanese in the back seat. That boy had been the source of said stress. He was annoying and constantly asking questions and he NEVER minded his own business… Arthur was suddenly very grateful that he was male and could never have children. He would never have to deal with teenagers again.

"What's wrong with you?" Kiku asked, looking at Arthur through the rear-view mirror.

"You," Arthur said simply, glaring at the boy. "You are very lucky that we're on a long, straight rode with no cliffs."

"Why's that?" Kiku asked, blowing a large bubble with his gum and making it pop loudly. It made Arthur flinch.

"Because I would have driven us off the road if there had been," Arthur said, fighting with himself to keep his cool.

"You need to chill," Kiku said, oblivious to that fact that Arthur was trying to keep from strangling the boy. "When was the last time you got laid anyway?"

"One, that's none of your business," Arthur said, gripping the wheel so tightly that his knuckles went white. "Second, you're too young to be asking those kinds of questions."

"I'm 16, dumbass," Kiku said, glaring at the Brit. "And I'm mature enough to know."

"No, you're not," Arthur said, teetering on the edge of insanity.

"Yao says that I am," Kiku retorted, just wanting to see Arthur riled up.

"Yao is sleeping," Arthur said, sparing a glance at the Asian sleeping next to him in the passenger's seat.

"Then we can wake him," Kiku said, leaning forward to wake his brother.

"You wake him and I will dig out your insides with a rusty spoon," Arthur said, glaring at the boy. "It's a very slow and painful death."

"Alrighty then," Kiku said with a smirk. "I still think you need to take a HUGE chill pill."

Arthur slammed on the brakes so hard that it sent both men flying forward. Yao slammed into the dashboard, coughing and sputtering and quickly undoing the seatbelt that was choking him. Kiku was sent flying to the floor of the car, muttering colorful curses and swears. Arthur stormed out of the car and jumped into the back of the truck. He pulled his Sais out of their case and darted off into the corn field they were next to.

_"The fuck was that?"_ Yao asked in Chinese, looking around for the blonde menace.

_"That fucking bastard…"_ Kiku responded, grabbing the seat in front of him and hauling himself into a sitting position. _"He could have at least warned us…"_

"_I don't think he knows the meaning of the word warning…."_ Yao said, looking out the window, trying to see the blond assassin. _"What did you say to him?"_

"_Nothing!"_ Kiku said, putting up his hands in a surrender position. _"All I said was that he looked stressed and he should chill out!"_

"_We'll talk about your lying later,"_ Yao said, glaring at his brother. _"Right now, we're stranded in the middle of nowhere. How do we get out of this?"_

"_I don't think we have to worry about that…"_ Kiku said, pointing outside the window.

Arthur was coming back, Sais in one hand and several stalks of corn in the other. He looked at the two brothers and then held up the corn a little.

"Dinner," Arthur said with a straight face. He threw the corn and his blades into the back of the truck. He then got into the driver's seat and sighed. "Buckle up, both of you."

"Can I drive?" Kiku asked, leaning forward into the front seat.

"No," Arthur said, putting a hand on the Japanese's head and pushing his back. "Put your seat belt on."

"You seem more mellow," Yao said as Kiku buckled his seat belt and Arthur drove off. "What did you go and do?"

"Stress relief," Arthur said simply, keeping his eyes glued to the road. "The warrior's way."

"Ah," Yao said, leaning his head on the window again and yawning. "That explains the corn…"

~*Later that Day*~

Arthur stifled a yawn as he drove on that same long expanse of country road. That was one thing that he hated about where Francis's winter home was. It was way too damn far away… But it was always a nice retreat for the young couple and Arthur loved the smell of the country.

Arthur looked at his two companions and stifled a smile. Yao was still sleeping, a little bit of drool dribbling down his chin. Kiku was looking out the window, blowing bubbles in his gum again. He looked over at Arthur and smiled a defiant smile before resting his head on his hand and looking out the window again. Arthur just sighed and looked back at the road.

"I'm a soccer mom," Arthur said to no one in particular.

"So, you um—" Kiku started, cutting himself off before deciding to go a different route with his question. "You really kill people for a living?"

"Yeah," Arthur said after a slight pause and a sigh.

"Why?" Kiku asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Curiosity killed the cat you know," Arthur said, looking at Kiku through the rear view mirror.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not a cat," Kiku said with a smirk. "So, why?"

Arthur sighed and debated telling Kiku or not. He could easily avoid the question and not answer. But that would lead to Kiku being annoying and bothersome again. Contrary wise, if he did answer, that could lead to even more questions. Arthur was in a tight spot. He had to admit, the kid was good…

"It's what I'm good at," Arthur said bluntly.

"That's messed up," Kiku said in a tone that sounded like he was talking to a kid half his age when Arthur was in fact twice as old as him.

"Yeah," Arthur said simply, focusing his mind on driving instead of answering Kiku's questions.

Several hours later, Arthur could finally see Francis's vineyards coming into view. He smiled as the familiar smell of the country came wafting into the truck. Arthur knew that the vineyards had a mesmerizing effect on him. The smell and the sight was enough to put him into a trance. Even Kiku was quiet, caught up in the awe of the property.

"This is where your fiancé lives?" Kiku asked, his voice small, almost as if he was afraid of breaking whatever spell they were put under.

"Yeah," Arthur said, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, not wanting anyone to see him crying. "Kiku, wake up your brother."

"Alright," Kiku said, fighting to tear his eyes away from the sight to look at his brother. He shook yao awake none too gently. "Aniki, we're here."

"Huh, who, what?" Yao sputtered, jolting up and looking around, just as Arthur parked the car.

"We're here," Kiku said again, looking out the windows.

Arthur stepped out of the truck and looked up at the Victorian home, feeling instantly calm and peaceful. It was a familiar setting and he knew that things would be alright now. His good feelings tripled when he saw Francis walk out of the house and start down the small hill to where they were.

Arthur didn't let Francis finish his walk. The Brit ran over, throwing his arms around his lover's neck and tackle-hugged Francis as tightly as possible. The Frenchie stumbled back a little, but kept his balance and hugged his fiancé back, gently running a hand through the Brit's golden locks. Arthur buried his face into Francis's shoulder, breathing in his lover's sent deeply. Being back in Francis's arms was something that put Arthur immediately at ease.

"I missed you, mon amour," Francis whispered, rubbing small circles into Arthur's back.

"Me too, you git," Arthur said, chuckling slightly. He held Francis tighter, frightened that this was all a big dream and that he would wake up and still be on that island. "Me too…"

"Don't worry, mon cher, I'm not going anywhere," Francis said with a pleasant smile. He pulled away slightly to kiss Arthur's nose, making the blond giggle.

"I'm sorry to drag you into this, Francis," Arthur said, taking a step back. He could feel the brother's eyes boring holes into his back.

"Me too," Francis said with a chuckle.

_"It's so sweet. Don't you think so, Aniki?"_ Kiku asked, looking up at his older brother with a sparkle in his eyes.

_"I think I want to wretch,"_ Yao replied, holding his stomach and covering his mouth with his other hand. Kiku just rolled his eyes and walked over to Arthur and Francis.

"Hi, I'm Kiku," Kiku said with a smile, shaking Francis's hand.

"Bonjour, Kiku. I'm… wondering what you're doing here." Francis said with a small smile and a chuckle. "There's plenty of room in the house. Help yourselves to whatever you need. Oh, and, don't bother Roderich, please, he just found out some terrible news."

"Cool, thanks," Kiku said with a smile before starting his walk up to the house, Yao close behind him.

"What was the news about?" Arthur asked, turning to look straight into Francis's crystal blue eyes. "Was it about Gilbert?"

"Oui, mon amour," Francis said with a sad sigh. "Gilbert is no longer with us."

"My God," Arthur gasped, taking deep breaths to steady himself. "Did the Hand find out? Did they kill him?"

"We don't know," Francis said, pulling Arthur into a tight hug. "All we know is that he is dead. The authorities say it was suicide… He left a note for Roderich."

"My God…" Arthur said again, his breath unsteady. He never particularly licked Gilbert, but the Prussian was an expert spy and had been on the inside of the Hand for years. Arthur knew that part of the reason that the assassins sent by the Hand were so weak was because Gilbert had a hand in it. But now they lost the only contact they had to the Hand…

"Come, mon amour, let's go inside," Francis said, wrapping an arm around Arthur's shoulder and leading him indoors. "I'll make you some tea, alright?"

"Alright," Arthur said, clinging to Francis. He leaned heavily on his lover, his mind reeling over all the new information. Arthur could tell that things just got ten times worse.

As they got closer to the house, a pleasant sound came from inside. It was calm and comforting to the frazzled Brittan. And he knew only one person who could play the piano like that…

Arthur walked in and immediately looked into the living room. Roderich sat at the grand piano and played, his eyes closed. Kiku was sitting on the couch, completely mesmerized. Arthur closed his eyes and calmed down sighing softly. Francis also seemed to relax more as they listened to the beautiful music.

"Chopin, am I right?" Arthur asked when Roderich finished.

"Yes," Roderich said, clearly fighting back tears. "I was his favorite…"

"Who?" Kiku asked, knowing that something was obviously wrong.

"I'll tell you later," Francis said as he sat on one side of Roderich and Arthur on the other. Both Europeans hugged the Austrian, whispering soothing words and comforting their hurt friend.

_"Come on, aru,"_ Yao whispered, pulling Kiku up and out of the room. _"Let's not disturb them,aru."_

"_You haven't said aru in a while, Aniki,"_ Kiku said, a soft smile on his face. _"Does this mean things are getting better?"_

"_Yes, much better, aru"_ Yao said with a smile, ruffling his brother's hair.

"So, the reluctant assassin," Roderich said with a smirk as he sipped his tea. Arthur glared at him form over his tea cup.

"You want to pull the trigger or should I do it?" Francis asked seriously, pressing the end of the barrel of his pistol under his jaw. Arthur just rolled his eyes. Francis sighed and put the gun and his tea down and gently took one of Arthur's hands. "Oh, Mon cher, you're crashing on me, baby. I said that you would crash and you are crashing."

"I just want to get them somewhere safe, give them a chance," Arthur said, putting his cup down.

"They're already dead," Roderich said bluntly. "They have no chance. Don't go down with them."

Arthur sighed and leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs and lowering his head. He hated being put in this situation. He had a gut feeling that was saying to him to help the brothers. But his mind was telling him to leave well enough alone. When he was with Germania, he was always told to follow his instinct, not his head. So when he follows his instinct, his mind tells him to do the opposite. Now, he knows that he really should listen to his mind and get out of there. Even his friends were telling him to listen to his mind. But he couldn't get rid of this nagging feeling that those Asians weren't telling him everything and he wanted to know what they were hiding.

Arthur picked up his head and looked at his two friends with sadness in his eyes. "I'll need passports," Arthur said simply. "I'll need plane tickets."

"Sure," Francis said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll even throw in some season tickets to the Lakers."

"Francis," Arthur said, his voice nearly pleading. "Please, I know that you always humor me, so just do it one last time."

"I don't want to see you throw your life away for the sake of some brat and his guardian," Francis said, staring right into Arthur's emerald orbs. "Don't do this, Arthur, please."

"I have to," Arthur said, unaware of a pair of brown eyes watching him. "There's something they aren't telling us and I intend to find out what it is. I think it's the reason the Hand is after them."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Arthur," Roderich said, sympathy in his eyes. "I really do."

"So do I," Arthur said with a sigh and a small chuckle.

"Mon amour, why don't you go to bed early, you look like you need rest," Francis said, rubbing Arthur's back a little.

"That sounds like a very good idea," Arthur said, standing up. "Good night, gentlemen, I will see you in the morning."

"Good night," the two said as Arthur climbed the stairs. Kiku sighed inwardly and walked off from his hiding place.

Francis sighed and looked out the window. He saw an eagle perched on one of the fence posts, just sitting there. Roderich seemed to have noticed it as well and drew the curtains, blocking the view of the bird.

* * *

**yes, i know, i killed Gilbert... but it's nessessary, i assure you!**

**anyway, nearly ten pages and one and a half scenes in the movie later, chapter 9 is done. i'll call it a day here.**

**Reviews are a wonderful thing.  
**


	11. Chapter 10: Kimagure

**A/N: ohai thar! alright, only one update today, cause i'm tired and it was a long day. aything that is italicized means that it's not in english, usually chinese or japanese. on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 10

_"I don't want you to tell him anything, aru,"_ Yao said, a sigh in his voice. This was the tenth time he had to tell Kiku this…

_"I hate lying. Why can't we tell him?"_ Kiku whispered, a pleading look in his eyes. He knew that the door to his room was closed and the other adults were still cleaning up dinner, but Arthur had ears like a hawk…

"_We don't know anything about him, aru,"/i_ Yao said, resisting the urge to palmface.

_"He saved us,"_ Kiku said, sighing deeply and sagging his shoulders.

_"Because he doesn't really know who you are, aru,"/i_ Yao hissed, gently gripping one of Kiku's shoulders. _"If he knew—"_

"_He's my friend,"_ Kiku said, feeling close to tears. He couldn't believe that Yao was being like this…

_"Your friend?"_ Yao asked in utter disbelief. He had always taught Kiku not to befriend strangers. Then again, Arthur wasn't exactly a stranger anymore…

_"He's the only one I have,"_ Kiku said, his brown eyes wide and filled with sadness. _"And I do not want to die with—"_

"_You're not going to die!"_ Yao snapped, making Kiku jump. Yao took a deep breath and looked at his brother and said in a more soothing voice, _"Don't you ever say that again, aru—ever. Okay, aru?"_

"_Yes,"_ Kiku said with a sigh.

* * *

Arthur sat in the kitchen, polishing his Sais with an expert hand. That assassin's blood was still on one of the blades and he was trying as hard as he could to get every last speck if the red flakes off. He had been at it for a few hours now, worrying both his friends. He knew he got a little OCD when it came to cleaning, but that was only once in a blue moon…

"Arthur?"

Arthur stopped what he was doing and turned around, looking into the open door to the basement and gasped. Arthur's heart nearly stopped when he saw a younger version of him walked up the stairs. The young boy walked over to Arthur and cocked his head to one side.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" the young boy asked in his innocent voice. Then, the voice started to change into one that was more familiar, "They told me to change my appearance, soo…"

Arthur blinked a few times, now seeing a blond Kiku standing in front of him, as defiant as ever. The Asian blinked back, a little confused as to why Arthur looked so mortified.

"That's not funny," Arthur said, glaring at the younger boy. "Take it off."

Kiku sighed and pulled off the blond wig, rolling his eyes all the while. He tossed the wig onto one of the counter tops, his eyes never straying from the blond. Arthur needed to take a few deep breaths before going back to his task. Kiku walked over and sat on the other end of the table, a smirk on his face.

"So, can you show me how to use those things, the, uh, salad tongs?" Kiku asked, fumbling over the name of the knives for a second.

"Sais," Arthur corrected, his green eyes not moving from the blade.

"Sais," Kiku echoed, picking one up slightly before Arthur pressed it back down onto the table.

"They're not for you," Arthur said simply. Kiku let go of the blade and retracted his arm.

"I want to learn how to defend myself," Kiku said, looking down at the blades in admiration.

"They're offensive weapons," Arthur said, taking a deep breath. "They're for killing."

_"You use them,"_ Kiku muttered in Japanese. Arthur's head snapped up and looked at the boy in confusion.

_"I don't want you to be like me,"_ Arthur replied in the same language, shocking Kiku for a second. The youth just smiled and looked back at the Brit.

_"I do,"_ Kiku said, his brown eyes shining with a light that scared Arthur.

Arthur sighed and put his Sai down on the table. He had only seen that look in the eyes of the monster that killed his parents, in the eyes of the people of the hand… in his own eyes. Arthur looked at the young man in front of him. This boy was a genius and here he was, being hunted down. He had his whole life ahead of him, like Arthur had at one point. He couldn't believe he was going to do this, but then again, what was new about that lately?

"You want to learn something really, really difficult?" Arthur asked, getting the boy's ears to perk up.

"Yeah," Kiku said with a smile, putting down the bottle of oil he had in his hands. "What?"

Arthur smiled a little. "Come on," he said, nodding towards the living room. He got up with the boy right on his heels. He stopped and turned to Kiku, who took a few steps back, his eyes bright. "Now sit down." Arthur sat down and Kiku looked at him oddly before also doing the same. They sat with their legs crossed, knees touching the other. Arthur sat with his back perfectly straight while the teen slouched a little. "Now close your eyes."

"What is this, yoga?" Kiku asked in an exasperated voice.

"No, it's called Kimagure," Arthur said, closing his eyes. He heard Kiku gasped lightly and opened one eye to look at the boy.

"Kimagure?" Kiku asked, his voice a little frightened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Arthur said, arching one eyebrow at the boy. Kiku looked really frightened by just mentioning the name. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kiku said, almost immediately. "It's just that… I often heard my parent's speak of it… but I was little, I never really understood it…"

"It's more valuable than learning to use a weapon," Arthur said calmly. "It allows you to see what's going to happen before it happens."

"I remember something like that…" Kiku said, shrugging. He looked at Arthur, the spark back in his eyes. "So, how do you do it?"

"Concentrate," Arthur said, closing his eyes once again. "Meditate. Let go of yourself and see everything around you. It's not easy."

"Well, how long did it take you to master it?" Kiku asked, making Arthur open his eyes again.

"I… never actually finished my training… I only know enough to keep myself alive," Arthur said, shaking his head to rid himself of the horrid memory. "But there are true masters, like Germania, who can use Kimagure to bring back the dead."

"Wow," Kiku said, shock and awe written clearly on his face.

"Close your eyes and breath," Arthur said, closing his eyes once more.

Arthur took a deep breath, immediately emptying his mind and feeling wrapped in the warm embrace of meditation. Kiku, on the other hand, didn't find it as easy. He pursed his lips and sat hunched over, his leg shaking wildly. He didn't understand the whole 'empty your mind' concept since his own mind was racing with thoughts. He jumped when he felt Arthur's hand gripping his knee tightly, stopping it's shaking.

"Just. Sit. Quietly," Arthur said, his eyes still closed. Kiku sighed and decided to be a bit of a jackass. He inhaled quickly loudly and exhaled obnoxiously, causing Arthur to flinch. He inhaled again and stopped short when Arthur snapped, "Shh!"

Kiku turned his head to the side and exhaled quickly before turning back to Arthur, who was once again in a trance. Kiku watched the Brit in awe, amazed that the blond was really not all there. He leaned forward towards Arthur and mad a light popping noise. Arthur's face didn't move at all, and his body stayed as still as ever. Kiku started to move his fingers in front of Arthur's face, seeing if he could get a reaction. Absolutely nothing. Kiku leaned forward, seeing is being closer to the Brit did anything, stopping only when they were about an inch apart.

Arthur's eyes suddenly flew open and he yelled, making Kiku scream and fall back onto the floor. Arthur started to chuckle and Kiku looked at him like he was crazy before also starting in on the laughing. They both felt like totally goofballs and it wasn't a bad feeling at the moment. Just being able to be there and have a little fun was good enough for them.

Yao walked over to the living room, a little frantic when he heard Kiku scream. But when he saw the two laughing and smiling, he smiled as well. It had been a long time since he saw his brother smile that like. It felt good to have some sense of normalcy again…

* * *

**one of my shorter chapters.**

**not much to say, really, other than the fact that the Asians ARE in fact hiding something.**

**reviews are a wonderful thing.  
**


	12. Chapter 11: The Treasure

**A/N: sorry about the late update, guys, but a lot happened in this last chapter. in fact, it's the longest so far, starting on page 64 and ending on page 76 with 4,195 words. shit... anyway, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Arthur smiled and put his tea cup down; reveling in the soothing feeling the drink gave him. He took another long sip, sighing contentedly as he felt the warm liquid slid down his throat. There was nothing like a strong cup of herbal tea at tea time for a Brit. Arthur wished that he was in Alice in Wonderland sometimes, were time was stopped so that it was always tea time…

"I smell tea, aru!"

Arthur jumped, nearly spilling his drink as Yao walked in, eyeing the tea with a sinister smile. Arthur blanched slightly, not liking the look in the usually docile Chinese's eyes.

"Yes, herbal tea. Would you like a cup?" Arthur asked, keeping his voice calm.

"Herbal? Yuck, only Europeans drink that fake tea, aru," Yao said with a disgusted face as he sat down across from Arthur at the table.

"It's not fake tea," Arthur said with a sigh. He wanted to change this subject quickly before they got into yet ANOTHER tea argument. "So, how are you doing?"

"Still alive, aru," Yao said with a soft smile. "Thank you, aru."

"You shouldn't be thanking me, Yao…" Arthur said, looking down at the dark liquid in his cup, his voice ridden with guilt. "You don't know what I was really doing…"

"What you were doing there, aru? Sure I do, aru," Yao said, a hit of sadness in his eyes. "You were there to kill us, aru."

Arthur's eyes widened as Yao spoke. Arthur was so sure that he had been careful. No one could have known why he was there. It was impossible!

"How did you…?" Arthur started, not really able to finish the question.

"I knew it as soon as you too the Wheelwright place, aru," Yao said, a small smirk on his face.

"But… I was so sure…" Arthur said, sort of to no one. He was still running every day over and over again in his head as so what went wrong.

"Trust me, aru. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have known a thing, aru," Yao said with a smile. "Kiku and I have learned to be suspicious of everything, aru."

"That makes more sense…" Arthur said, still looking down at the ground. Yao chuckled slightly, making Arthur look at him strangely. "Is my confusion amusing to you?"

"Very much so, aru," Yao said, using a hand to cover his mouth.

Arthur was about to snap back when he heard something behind him. He looked over and saw Francis standing there, shotgun in hand. Francis lifted the gun and aimed for what looked like Arthur's head. Arthur reached for his Sais, which were still on the table.

"Arthur, Yao, get back," Francis snapped, making both of them go ridged. "Get back now!"

Both men hit the deck when Francis pulled the trigger, shooting the window behind them. The eagle that was there flew off, squawking loudly. Roderich and Kiku ran in, both scared.

"What was that?" Roderich snapped while Kiku ran over to see if his brother was alright.

"That bird has been hanging around here for nearly two days," Francis said, going over to the window to see where the bird went.

Arthur closed his eyes as he felt a pull on his consciousness. He saw people getting out of a car right in front of the house. There were many that he didn't recognize, but there was one there that he did. He'd know the face of that Germanic bastard anywhere…

"They're here," Arthur said, standing up and grabbing his Sais.

_"Kiku, go get it,"_ Yao said to Kiku, pushing his brother up to the stairs. He got up as well and turned back to Arthur. "Let's use the truck."

"We won't make it," Arthur said, running over to the basement doors.

"But it's the best way," Yao said, right on Arthur's heels.

"Trust me, there isn't time," Arthur said, turning to glare at the Asian. "Wait, where's Kiku?"

"Right here," Kiku said, putting a bag over his shoulders. Arthur narrowed his eyes, seeing that Kiku had thrown on a black jacket while he was upstairs.

"There's a tunnel in the basement," Francis said, looking out the window and reloading his shotgun. "It'll take you out to the vineyards. Head north."

"What about you?" Arthur asked, motioning for the brother's to go ahead of him. Francis just finished loading his gun. "Shit…"

"Go," Francis said with a soft smile.

"I'm not leaving you again," Arthur said, gripping Francis's shirt and burring his face in the Frenchie's chest. "Please, come with us."

"I can't," Francis said, placing a small kiss on Arthur's head.

"Give me the gun, Francis."

Both men turned to see Roderich standing in the staircase, a serious look on his face. Francis hesitated for a moment, making Roderich storm over to him.

"I said, give me the gun," Roderich snapped, grabbing the gun from Francis and shoving his own revolver into its holster. "I have a score to settle with these bastards. Now go!"

"Come on," Arthur said, pulling Francis over to the cellar.

"Be careful, Roderich!" Francis called, just before Arthur shoved him into the tunnel.

"Keep them safe," Roderich said, closing the door to the tunnel behind them, just as they started running.

Roderich closed up the tunnel and walked back up the stairs, shot gun ready to fire at a moment's notice. He saw a shadow moving towards the front door and silently walked over to the door himself. He saw the shadow underneath the door and pulled the trigger, blasting a large hole in the wood. Roderich tossed the shotgun aside since he didn't know how to reload it and pulled out his revolver. He walked over to the hole and looked through it, his eyes widening.

He saw a Russian man standing there, brushing off the shotgun pellets like they were just dust. There wasn't a single mark on the man's large tan jacket either, making Roderich just slightly scared. He smiled, his violet eyes twinkling with a sinister spark.

"Holy…" Roderich gasped and se jumped away from the door, just as the Russian busted it down with one hand.

* * *

Francis pushed the trap door open, letting the sunlight stream into the tunnel. He hauled himself up onto the ground and helped Arthur, Yao, and Kiku up. The four started running as top speed through the vineyards, following Francis through the complicated twists and turns.

* * *

Roderich stood, just as the Russian walked in, a stupid smile on his childish face. Roderich looked sadly at him, and at the Italian boy who followed right behind him.

"Ivan, Feliciano," Roderich said, looking at his two former friends sadly. "Is this what it's come to?"

"Da," Ivan said with a smile.

"Sorry, Roderich," Feliciano said, not a hint of remorse in his voice. "But this is what Ludwig wants."

"Is Gilbert's death what Ludwig wanted as well?" Roderich spat at the Italian.

"As a matter of fact, it was," Feliciano said with a smile. "And I got that enjoyable task. Seducing that bitch of yours was easy since he practically threw himself at me."

"Son of a bitch!" Roderich snapped, shooting Feliciano blindly.

Ivan caught the bullet in his hand, not even fazed by it at all. He dropped the now flat piece of metal on the ground as if it were just a piece of paper.

"Now now, Roderich," Ivan said with a smile. "Zat von't do at all."

"Where are they?" Feliciano demanded, taking a step forward.

"You bastards might as well just kill me now because I'm not talking," Roderich said, handing the revolver off to Ivan.

"Talking won't be necessary."

Roderich gasped and spun around, only to come face to face with his own brother-in-law. Roderich tried to punch the blond, but Ludwig easily grabbed his wrist and twisted it, grinning evilly at the sound of breaking bones. Ludwig grabbed Roderich's hair and slammed his against the wall, staring down Roderich's bright violet eyes with his own ice blue ones.

"But I accept the first half of your proposal," Ludwig said with a smirk.

Roderich felt something invade his mind, something very sinister. He tried to fight back, tried to get this evil entity out, but it was no use. The evil broke through every defense he put up. He felt his eyes roll to the back of his head and he started to shake.

Ludwig invaded Roderich's mind with ease. He saw in his minds eyes Arthur, Francis and two Asians running through the tunnel, coming out of the trap door, and then over the crest of a hill and into the woods.

"They're in the forest," Ludwig said, letting go of Roderich, letting the Austrian fall to his knees. "Feliciano, Yong-Soo, Ivan, get Tai-Ying, head there now. Hurry."

Feliciano smirked widely as he walked past Roderich, kicking the brunet with the side of his heel first. Ivan and Yong-Soo followed him out the back. Ludwig also turned to leave and stopped. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and spun around, slicing clean through Roderich's neck.

* * *

Feliciano smirked as he walked through the vineyards, grazing his hands over the many vines and grapes on either side. As his hands ghosted over each plant, they withered and died, turning black and falling over. Feliciano laughed, leaving a long trail of death behind him as he walked leisurely through the vineyards.

* * *

Yong-Soo stood on a rock outcropping in the forest. One look around insured that he would not be disturbed here. He pulled off the top of his Kimono, exposing his numerous tattoos that covered his torso. He sat down on the ground and took a meditative stance and concentrated.

The tattoo of a wolf's head on Yong-Soo's stomach started to move, pushing against the Asian's toned abbs like he was breaking out of an old skin. The beast started to growls and howl and then shot off into the forest, leaving Yong-Soo in a trance.

* * *

Arthur, Yao, Francis, and Kiku ran through the forest, dodging tree after tree, trying to lose whoever they were running from in the thick woods. Arthur was out in the front, running several feet in front of the others. Arthur suddenly stopped when he felt something pulse in his mind.

"Hold up," Arthur said, suddenly stopping and spinning around.

Yao and Kiku stopped short, trying not to run into the blond, while Francis narrowly missed barreling into the three. Arthur walked past them, back towards where they came. He heard a loud growling and saw a bright light come over the crest of the hill and split into two. Arthur's eyes widened. He knew what those were.

"Follow me, just keep running," Arthur said to the others, running back out into the front of the group, the others on his heels.

Arthur ran into a small clearing and cursed himself. There was a large tree that had fallen down, leaving just a hollowed out log. Arthur stopped and nodded to Francis, who nodded back.

"Get in there," Arthur said, pushing Kiku down into the log. "Yao, go. Francis, you too."

Yao got in right after Kiku, who was cradling the long, cylindrical shaped bag he had on his back. Francis also went in, pulling out his pistol on the way. Arthur handed Francis his small leather pack and walked out into the clearing.

Arthur saw a large tree at the end of the clearing and smirked inwardly. The tree was as wide as about half of Arthur's height, maybe more, and Arthur was just over 6 feet tall. The blond pulled out two small kunai and tossed them at the tree, one on top of the other. Arthur ran full speed at the tree and jumped, using the kunai as a foothold, and hauled himself onto the closed branch.

Arthur got into the tree just in time. Ivan walked into the clearing, his long faucet pipe in hand. He was muttering something along the lines of "kolkolkol" over and over again, a murderous look in his normally smiling eyes. Arthur pulled out his Sais, waiting for just the right moment to strike…

Francis motioned for the Asian brothers to move farther inside the log. He knew what Ivan was capable of, probably better than anyone. Yao took a small step back, but he stepped on a twig, snapping it. The small snap of the twig was nearly deafening into the silence of the clearing.

Ivan's head snapped around, looking right to where the three were hiding. His smiled threatened to tear his face in half and he walked over to the log.

Arthur figured that this was as good a time as any. He jumped down from the tree, Sais at the ready. He lunged forward to stab Ivan in the back… when his Sai broke on impact. Ivan just turned and smiled.

"Zat vas not very nice, Arzur," Ivan said happily. He punched Arthur in the chest, sending the Brit flying back against the tree. "Ant neither is zat."

"Arthur," Kiku whispered, moving forward to try and see what happened. Yao and Francis both covered Kiku's mouth with their hands, pushing the boy back.

Arthur gasped for breath as he stood, sputtering a little to get the dirt out of his mouth. He could feel that nearly half his ribs were bruised, causing the Brit massive amounts of pain. He barely got to his feet when Ivan grinned evilly.

Ivan chucked his pipe at Arthur on its side, making the pipe spin. Arthur jumped up into the tree, just as the pipe broke clean through the large, very decayed tree. Arthur pulled himself up to the branch just as the tree started to tip over.

"Arthur!" Kiku screamed, making both adults push him as far back into the log as possible.

However, it was too late. Ivan heard the cry and he grinned even wider. He picked up a rather large log like it was a toy and walked over to the log. Yao, Kiku, and Francis all started to scramble out of the log, just as Ivan started to smash it in.

"Go!" Francis snapped, pushing Yao out, who pushed Kiku out. The two ran off into the forest blindly. "Just run!"

Francis, however, was unable to get out in time. Ivan smashed the last piece of the log, also smashing one of Francis's legs in the process. For Arthur and Francis, the sound of the bones smashing and grinding was louder than the breaking of the tree. Ivan smiled at a job well done and went to go after the two Asians.

Arthur, at this point, was able to get onto the top of the tree and was now almost walking down it at it fell. Arthur saw that Ivan was unsuspectingly coming right into the area that the tree would fall. The blond did a quick calculation in his head and started to run down the tree, making the falling go faster.

Ivan stopped for a split second as a large shadow crossed his path. He looked up, just in time to see the tree fall right on his head. There was the sound of almost glass shattering as Ivan disappeared in an explosion of green smoke and dust.

* * *

Feliciano, Tai-Ying, and Ludwig all stopped when they heard the tree fall. The three could feel that one of their number was just vanquished. Ludwig narrowed his eyes and ran off in the direction of the noise, motioning for his two companions to follow.

* * *

Kiku and Yao ran blindly through the forest, just trying to get away from whatever was chasing them. Kiku stopped short when he heard something, making Yao stop as well. Kiku looked back the way they came and heard the growling of an animal. Kiku reached for the pack on his back.

"Not yet, go," Yao said, pushing Kiku along to make the boy run.

* * *

Arthur ran through the forest in the same direction that he saw the brothers go off in. But the two Asians were nowhere to be seen. Arthur wasn't sure if this was a blessing or a curse.

The Brit stopped short when he felt something pulse on his mind. He heard an animal growling as his vision appeared. There was a wolf there, snapping at Kiku, who was scared shitless. The wolf bit something and Yao screamed. And then the vision ended. Arthur blanched slightly and turned around, running off in the direction that his vision told him to go in.

* * *

Yao and Kiku stopped short as they came into the clearing that they just left. Yao cursed himself when he saw that they just went in a huge circle.

"Kiku, give it to me," Yao said, holding out his hand to his brother.

Kiku pulled out an old, Chinese war sword in its sheath, which he immediately handed off to Yao. Yao gripped the black handle that was made just for him. He carefully pulled the arched blade out of its sheath and smiled. Kiku was about to pull out another, when Yao stopped him.

"Net yet, aru," Yao said, just as the growling got louder and louder.

"When, then?" Kiku snapped, losing his patients with his brother.

Yao was unable to answer the question, unfortunately, as a large gray wolf jumped out of the brush and right as Yao. Yao smiled at the animal's stupidity as he lunged forward, slicing the beast clean in half. Yao smirked, but the smirk soon faded as he heard another set of feet enter the fray.

Yao turned around to see Kiku going at it hand to hand with another Asian. This newcomer had short brown hair that ended along his jaw line and swept off to one side. His brown eyes showed nothing as the two did battle. Yao nearly dropped his sword.

"Tai-Ying…?" Yao asked, startling Kiku just long enough for Tai-Ying to land one well placed kick, making the Japanese double over. The split second that Kiku was down was all Tai-Ying needed to get an arm around the boy's neck and a dagger against his throat. "What happened to you…?"

"What's going on, Yao?" Kiku asked, one hand moving to grab something at his waist.

"Ah, Ge Ge, it's good to see you again," Tai-Ying said with a smirk. "How long has it been? Two, three years?"

"What did they do to you?" Yao asked, taking a step forward. Tai-Ying pressed the dagger closer to Kiku's throat, making Yao take the step back and drop the sword. "What happened to the cute little brother I used to know?"

"He's gone," Tai-Ying said.

"No, Tai-Ying…" Yao said, looking down at the ground.

Kiku smirked and he pulled the white sheathed katana over his head and hooking it around Tai-Ying's neck. Kiku used the small leverage to flip the brunet over his head and onto his back. Tai-Ying glared at Kiku and jumped up to his feet.

"Do it!" Yao called, falling to his knees.

Kiku smirked, finally unsheathing his katana with a deadly _shing_. There was a red glint in his eyes as Tai-Ying pulled out his own sword. Kiku didn't wait, and immediately stabbed Tai-Ying in the chest. Tai-Ying also disappeared in the same array of green smoke and ash, never to be seen again. Kiku smirked and sheathed his sword, turning to comfort his brother.

Kiku stopped mid step and nearly dropped his sword when he saw Arthur standing a few feet behind his brother, his green eyes wide. Arthur looked like he was trying to saw something, but he couldn't find the right words to say it with. Yao stood and looked over as Arthur and then to Kiku.

"The jig is up," Yao said, sitting down on a stump.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arthur asked simply. There was no anger or hurt in his voice, just amusement. He finally realized why these two were being hunted and everything made perfect sense.

Arthur's train of thought was cut short as he felt something coming fast. He turned to face it, but he was a second too late. Feliciano was barely a foot away from him. The Italian grabbed Arthur's face and pressed his body against his, clamping his lips onto that of the Brit.

As soon as contact was made, Arthur's skin began to turn a sickly yellow color. He started to fall back, gently and slowly, almost as if time was slowing down in just that small area. He could feel the life being sucked out of him…

"Arthur!" Kiku cried, about to run over and help the Brit. Yao held Kiku back, not wanting the same thing to happen to the boy. "Yao, let me go!"

Feliciano smirked widely as they hit the ground. He pulled away, happy to see that Arthur's lips were a deathly blue and his skin was cracking and yellow and his breathing was shallow. The whites of the Brit's eyes were the same pale yellow as his skin and his green irises were fading fast. Arthur turned his head as much as he could, which was not far, to see what was happening with Kiku and Yao.

Kiku snapped at that point. He unsheathed his sword, making the Italian look up in surprised and annoyance. He was trying to admire his work and that Eastern brat dared to interrupt him. Oh, he was going to pay now… Feliciano stood and walked over to the Japanese, a scowl on his face. Kiku swung his blade, aiming to decapitate the Italian, but he was met with the sound of metal hitting metal.

Ludwig stood in front of Kiku, his own sword drawn and blocking Kiku's. There was a smirk on the blond's face as he looked at the boy. His ice blue eyes looking up and down Kiku, like a predator surveying its prey.

"Ah, you really are the little Treasure, aren't you?" Ludwig asked, flipping his sword and wrenching Kiku's out of his hand at the same time. Kiku stood his ground, unfazed when his sword imbedded itself in the ground. Ludwig's smirk just widened. "The war is over."

Feliciano smiled, about to cheer to celebrate, when he heard something in the trees. He looked up, as well as Ludwig, seeing white ninjas jumping about in the trees. Ludwig scowled, knowing that this was the doing of his grandfather. The ninjas swooped down all around them, startling the Asians a bit. Ludwig's sword was wrenched out of his hand by a wooden staff. Ludwig glared at his grandfather, who stood there with unseeing eyes.

"The war has just begun," Germania said, stepping between the two. "Move back, Kiku."

One of the ninja's grabbed Kiku's arm and pulled him back. A few other ninja's came over, inspecting the boy for wounds. Yao looked from his brother to Germania, an unsure look on his face.

"He is safe," Germania assured, moving so that his glossy green eyes could stare at his grandson.

"Another day, old man," Ludwig said, disappearing with Feliciano.

Germania sighed and walked over to where Arthur was laying. He knelt down next to the Brit, shaking his head. He wanted to chuckle, really, but it wasn't the time.

"Reckless again I see," Germania teased. He covered Arthur's eyes with his hand. "Rest now. You'll be fine."

Arthur's eyes closed of their own accord. He could feel himself slipping into the black abyss…

* * *

**i started this on page 64 and it ended on 76. that's a long chapter, probably my longest in this series.**

**anyway, Tai-Ying is Hong Kong, just to clear that up.**

**Ge Ge means older brother in chinese.**

**if you guys have any questions about what the fuck happened, then please review. i know it's hard to follow... i can't even follow it...**


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